Live Chess Tournaments Follow Top Events - ChessBomb

No	Title	Name	FED	Elo
1	GM	Magnus Carlsen	NOR	2881
2	GM	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave	FRA	2860
3	GM	Liren Ding	CHN	2836
4	GM	Hikaru Nakamura	USA	2829
5	GM	Leinier Dominguez-Perez	USA	2786
6	GM	Alexander Grischuk	RUS	2784
7	GM	Ian Nepomniachtchi	RUS	2778
8	GM	Levon Aronian	ARM	2778
9	GM	Jan-Krzysztof Duda	POL	2774
10	GM	Daniil Dubov	RUS	2770
11	GM	Teimour Radjabov	AZE	2758
12	GM	Wesley So	USA	2741
13	GM	Anish Giri	NED	2731
14	GM	Vidit Gujrathi	IND	2636
15	GM	Sam Shankland	USA	2609
16	GM	Matthias Bluebaum	GER	2562

Stage	Dates
Preliminaries	February 6-8
Quarterfinals	February 9-10
Semifinals	February 11-12
Finals	February 13-14

Seed	Title	Name	FED	Elo
1	GM	Magnus Carlsen	NOR	2881
2	GM	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave	FRA	2860
3	GM	Wesley So	USA	2741
4	GM	Teimour Radjabov	AZE	2758
5	GM	Anish Giri	NED	2731
6	GM	Jan-Krzysztof Duda	POL	2774
7	GM	Levon Aronian	ARM	2778
8	GM	Daniil Dubov	RUS	2770

Stage	Dates
Preliminaries	February 6-8
Quarterfinals	February 9-10
Semifinals	February 11-12
Finals	February 13-14

Seed	Title	Name	FED	Elo
1	GM	Magnus Carlsen	NOR	2881
2	GM	Wesley So	USA	2741
3	GM	Teimour Radjabov	AZE	2758
4	GM	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave	FRA	2860

Stage	Dates
Preliminaries	February 6-8
Quarterfinals	February 9-10
Semifinals	February 11-12
Finals	February 13-14

Seed	Title	Name	FED	Elo
1	GM	Magnus Carlsen	NOR	2881
2	GM	Wesley So	USA	2741

Stage	Dates
Preliminaries	February 6-8
Quarterfinals	February 9-10
Semifinals	February 11-12
Finals	February 13-14

There are more local multiplayer games than ever, but most are indie games overshadowed by AAA titles. I can't comment exactly on many new games the Xbox One has been getting each month, but I do know the PlayStation 4 has been getting about 60 new games a month in 2020/2021 – 28% of which include local multiplayer - but most people only hear about a handful of them. I imagine it's pretty similar for the Xbox One. I’m going to list 5 local multiplayer games per genre. I’m setting a limit because I will just keep going for some genres if I don’t. They will be in order of highest quality game to lowest quality. I had no problems finding games for each genre – almost all should have a Metacritic rating over 70%, with only a few exceptions (like Outward, but patches have improved it). I’ve also included links to the U.S. Microsoft Store page for each game.
Some games can really qualify for two genres, like Fury Unleashed, which is both a run & gun and roguelike. If this happens, I either pick the one it leans more strongly towards, or I just choose. No game will ever appear more than once on this list.
See below for the list.
Cooperative Traditional/Precision Platformers
• Rayman Legends – 4 players
• Ms. Splosion Man – 4 players
• Unravel Two – 2 players
• Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two – 2 players
• N+ – 4 players
Cooperative Action Platformers
• Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope – 2 players
• Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 – 2 players
• The Adventure Pals – 2 players
• Unruly Heroes – 4 players
• Thy Sword – 2 players
Competitive 2D Platformers
• Ultimate Chicken Horse – 4 players
• Speedrunners – 4 players
• Runbow – 4 players
• Sonic Mania Plus – 4 players
• Toto Temple Deluxe – 4 players
3D Puzzle Adventure Games
• Human: Fall Flat – 2 players
• Portal 2 – 2 players
• Biped – 2 players
• PHOGS! – 2 players
• Death Squared – 4 players
2D Puzzle Adventure Games
• Trine 1 & 2 & 4 – 3 players
• Chariot Bundle – 2 players
• Never Alone – 2 players
• Sally's Law – 2 players
• Organic Panic – 4 players
Competitive Puzzle Games
• Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 – 2 players
• Tricky Towers – 4 players
• Tumblestone – 4 players
• Peggle 2– 4 players
• LUMINES REMASTERED – 2 players
Metroidvanias
• Salt and Sanctuary – 2 players
• Guacamelee 1 & 2 – 4 players
• Sundered: Eldritch Edition – 2 players
• Outbuddies DX - 2 players
• Timespinner (limited role) – 2 players
Top Down Action Adventure Games
• Hyper Light Drifter – 2 players
• Cat Quest II – 2 players
• Darksiders Genesis – 2 players
• Full Metal Furies – 4 players
• Vikings - Wolves of Midgard – 2 players
Real-Time RPGs
• Diablo III: Eternal Collection – 4 players
• Minecraft Dungeons – 4 players
• Children of Morta – 2 players
• Outward – 2 players
• 9th Dawn III – 2 players
Turn-Based RPGs
• Divinity: Original Sin 1 & 2 – 2 players
• For The King – 3 players
• Haven – 2 players
• Child of Light (limited role) – 2 players
• Tales of (series) (limited role) – 4 players
Side Scrolling Roguelikes/Roguelites
• 20XX – 2 players
• Fury Unleashed – 2 players
• Risk of Rain – 2 players
• GONNER 2 – 2 players
• Hive Jump – 4 players
Top Down Roguelikes/Roguelites
• Wizard of Legend – 2 players
• Enter the Gungeon – 2 players
• Streets of Rogue – 4 players
• Full Mojo Rampage – 2 players
• The Sword’s of Ditto: Mormo’s Curse – 2 players
Beat ‘em Ups
• Castle Crashers Remastered – 4 players
• Streets of Rage 4 – 4 players
• River City Girls – 2 players
• Mother Russia Bleeds – 4 players
• Fight’N Rage – 3 players
Twin Stick Shooters
• Nine Parchments – 4 players
• Tesla vs Lovecraft – 4 players
• NeuroVoider – 4 players
• Neon Chrome – 4 players
• Crimsonland – 4 players
Side Scrolling Shoot ‘em Ups
• R-Type Dimensions – 2 players
• Super Hydorah – 2 players
• Gryphon Knight Epic – 2 players
• Sine Mora EX – 2 players
• AQUA KITTY UDX – 2 players
Top Down Shoot ‘em Ups
• Radiant Silvergun – 2 players
• Ikaruga – 2 players
• Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime – 4 players
• Sky Force Reloaded – 2 players
• Rival Megagun – 2 players
Run & Guns
• Cuphead – 2 players
• Guns, Gore & Cannoli 1 & 2 – 4 players
• Blazing Chrome – 2 players
• Huntdown – 2 players
• Mercenary Kings – 4 players
First Person Shooters
• Halo: The Master Chief Collection – 4 players
• Call of Duty (various) – 2-4 players depending on entry
• Borderlands (various) – 2-4 players depending on entry
• Serious Sam Collection – 4 players
• Left 4 Dead 1 & 2 – 2 players
Third Person Shooters
• Gears of War (series) – 2 players
• Resident Evil 5 – 2 players
• Earth Defense Force (series) – 2 players
• Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville & Garden Wafare 1 & 2 – 2 players
• The Otterman Empire – 4 players
3D Action Adventure Games
• A Way Out – 2 players
• Fable II & III – 2 players
• Splinter Cell: Conviction – 2 players
• Lost Planet 2 – 2 players
• Dynasty Warriors (series) – 2 players
Overcooked-like Games
• Overcooked 1 & 2 – 4 players
• Moving Out – 4 players
• Catastronauts – 4 players
• Unrailed! – 4 players
• Tools Up! – 4 players
Rhythm Games
• Rock Band 4 – 6 players
• Just Dance (series) – 6 players
• Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory – 2 players
• Crypt of the Necrodancer – 2 players
• Floor Kids – 2 players
Creation Games
• Minecraft – 4 players
• Levelhead – 4 players
• Lego Worlds – 2 players
• Gunscape – 4 players
• BattleBlock Theater – 4 players
Survival Games
• ARK: Survival Evolved – 2 players
• Terraria – 4 players
• 7 Days to Die – 2 players
• Don’t Starve Together – 2 players
• How to Survive 2 – 4 players
Side View Arena Fighters
• TowerFall – 4 players
• Killer Queen Black (Release on Xbox One due Q1 2021) – 8 players
• Extreme Exorcism – 4 players
• Demons with Shotguns – 4 players
• Black & White Bushido – 4 players
Top Down Arena Fighters
• Crawl – 4 players
• Super Bomberman R – 8 players
• Boomerang Fu – 6 players
• Knight Squad - 8 players
• HyperBrawl Tournament – 4 players
Traditional Fighting Games
• Mortal Kombat X & 11 – 2 players
• Killer Instinct – 2 players
• Soulcalibur VI – 2 players
• Tekken 7 – 2 players
• BlazBlue (series) – 4 players
Indie Fighting Games
• Nidhogg 2 – 2 players
• Gang Beasts - 4 players
• Rivals of Aether – 4 players
• Brawlhalla – 4 players
• Brawlout – 4 players
Realistic Racing Games
• Forza Motorsport (series) – 2 players
• F1 (series) – 2 players
• WRC (series) – 2-4 players depending on entry
• NASCAR Heat (series)– 2 players
• Ride 1 & 2 – 2 players
Arcade Racing Games
• Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled – 4 players
• Team Sonic Racing – 4 players
• Horizon Chase Turbo – 4 players
• Trackmania Turbo – 4 players
• Riptide GP: Renegade – 4 players
Traditional Team Sports Games
• FIFA (series) – 4 players
• NHL (series) – 4 players
• Madden NFL (series) – 4 players
• NBA 2K (series) – 4 players
• Cricket 19 – 4 players
Individual Sports Games
• Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 – 2 players
• PGA Tour 2K (series) – 4 players
• PBA Pro Bowling (series) – 4 players
• WWE 2K19 – 4 players
• AO Tennis 2 – 4 players
Indie Sports Games
• Rocket League – 4 players
• Lethal League Blaze – 4 players
• Stikbold! – 6 players
• OlliOlli2 – 4 players
• ClusterPuck 99 – 8 players
Indie Golf Games
• Golf With Your Friends – 12 players
• Dangerous Golf – 4 players
• Infinite Minigolf – 8 players
• 3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures – 4 players
• Party Golf – 4 players
Party Games
• The Jackbox Party Pack (series) – 100 players
• Cake Bash – 4 players
• Petoons Party – 4 players
• Party Panic – 4 players
• Marooners – 6 players
Mini-Game Side Modes in 3D Platformers
• Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz – 4 players
• Unbox: Newbie’s Adventure – 4 players
• Yooka-Laylee – 4 players
• de Blob 1 & 2 – 2-4 players depending on entry
• Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated – 2 players
Strategy Games
• Wargroove – 4 players
• Pit People – 2 players
• Cannon Brawl – 4 players
• Worms Battlegrounds & W.M.D. – 4 players
• Kingdom Two Crowns – 2 players
Tower Defense Games
• Dungeon Defenders 2 – 2 players
• Defense Grid 2 – 2 players
• Rock of Ages 2 & 3 – 2 players
• Toy Soliders: War Chest – 2 players
• X-Morph Defense – 2 players
Board Games
• Monopoly Plus – 4 players
• Risk: Urban Assault – 4 players
• Chess Ultra – 2 players
• Blood Bowl 2 – 2 players
• Trivial Pursuit Live! – 4 players
Retro Game Series Bundles
• Rare Replay – 4 players
• Sega Genesis Classics – 2 players
• Contra Anniversary Collection – 2 players
• SNK 40TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION – 4 players
• Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection – 2 players
Notes About the List
• Resident Evil 6 and Revelations 2 also have local co-op. 6 reviewed quite a bit worse than 5, but still performed well overall. Revelations 2 plays differently from 5 and 6 - there is more environmental puzzle solving, and at times the second player uses a flashlight instead of a gun. It still performed almost as well as 5, but you should note it's not really a shooter like the other two games.
• Trine 1, 2, and 4 are 2D games. Trine 3 is a 3D game and reviewed significantly worse than the other two. That said, Trine 3 still performed somewhat decently.
• Lethal League Blaze is a sequel to Lethal League. The first one is slightly less expensive, but the sequel is generally considered to be better in nearly every way.
• Guns, Gore & Cannoli 1 & 2 scored about equally well. In addition to the campaign mode, the first one also has an arena type battle mode that is not present in the sequel. The sequel has a more robust moveset with dodges and jumps. The sequel also has online play and is slightly more expensive than the first one.
• AO Tennis 2 reviewed significantly better than the first game, but it is also more than twice as expensive as the first game.
• WWE 2K has a number of entries on Xbox One, but WWE 2K19 reviewed the best. WWE 2K20 reviewed significantly worse than all the other games in the series.
Hope this helps you find something new to play. Obviously there are tons of great ones that didn’t even make the list. I’ll include some below – these ones did not count towards the 200 games stated in the post title.
• Untitled Goose Game
• Demon's Tier+
• Riddled Corpses EX
• Lichtspeer: Double Speer Edition
• Morkredd
• Death Road to Canada
• Scrabble
• Broforce
• Metal Slug (series)
• Bleed 1 & 2
• The Escapists 2
• Super Toy Cars 1 & 2
• Woodle Tree 2
•. Gigantosaurus The Game
• Old Man's Journey
• Hellpoint
• Riptide GP 2 & Renegade
• Cannon Brawl
• Totally Reliable Delivery Service
• Guilt Battle Arena
• STAB STAB STAB!
• Skullgirls
• Mugsters
• Die For Valhalla!
• Hookbots
• FoxyLand 2
• Pang Adventures
• Screencheat
• Laser League
• Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved
• Mecho Collection: Mecho Tales & Mecho Wars
• Zaccaria Pinball
• Big Crown: Showdown
• Colt Canyon
• Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
• Swap Quest
With the indie scene continually expanding, I expect even more on the Xbox Series S/X! I know it's overwhelming to look at a post with a bunch of games you've never heard of before and make a choice. So I’m going to link to a post I made that discusses 20 local multiplayer games for Xbox One:
• Overview of 20 Local Multiplayer Games for Xbox One

The Melee Player’s Introduction to Chess

Melee and Chess have been on a collision course for quite some time, and folks, it’s happening tomorrow. With the combination of Slippi, Metagame, Queen’s Gambit, Pogchamps, and general lockdown-induced boredom, chess and Melee are both experiencing unprecedented booms. And on Feb 6-7, we will have the pleasure of watching our favorites go toe to toe in chess.
The Smasher’s Gambit is a chess tournament which will feature Leffen, Mang0, IBDW, HugS, Ludwig, Esam, Void, and Marss, as well as an exhibition match between Zain and Hbox.
As a pretty much lifelong fan of both games, it has been surreal for me these past few days, watching so many of my favorite Melee players getting coached by all these incredible chess streamers. I thought it’d be fun to revisit a post I made several years ago comparing Melee characters to different chess “openings”. This time around we’ll also have a list comparing our favorite smashers to some Grandmasters of today and from the past. Lastly, there will be a short guide on how to get started with chess, with me trying to say “And this is kind of like Melee because X” as much as possible, and sometimes it will even make sense.
So before we get into why I think playing Fox is kind of like playing the Sicilian Defense, I should explain what a chess opening is. In chess, the first few moves are known as the opening, where both players try to steer the game into a position they’re comfortable with. Like Melee characters, some openings are certainly better than others, but there is enough diversity in choice even among the top tier openings that the game remains healthy. And just like a top 100 player could choose a bottom tier character and still destroy almost everybody reading this, a Grandmaster (or even just an average solid player) could play virtually whatever opening they want against a novice and likely have no problems.
As far as the concept of “mains” is concerned, in Smash it’s pretty much accepted that the best advice to beginners in regards to choosing a main is “Just pick somebody and stick with it.” This can be true in chess as well, but I’d suggest new players to at least try to familiarize themselves with the basic ideas of a bunch of openings before diving too deep into a particular opening repertoire. Some top Grandmasters are more predictable in what they play, others, like Magnus Carlsen, will play almost anything under the sun (and make it work because he’s Magnus). Ultimately though, openings are far from the most important thing new players should be working on, but more on that later. For now, just know that the general goals of the opening are to:

Try to control the center
Develop your knights and bishops
Castle

Every position demands different things, and the things I listed above are just suggestions. There are plenty of ways each color can choose to approach the opening, let’s take a look at a few.
imgur album of every position/character
Fox: Open Sicilian 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3
Starting from the top, we have Fox and the Sicilian defense. The Sicilian is a top of the line aggressive response to 1.e4 with the move 1...c5. The Open Sicilian is reached after white plays Nf3 and d4. These positions are incredibly rich in theory, with some lines being analyzed past move 30. So needless to say, you need to know what you’re doing. The Sicilian might also be the most versatile response to 1.e4 as there are already dozens of variations black can choose from, most of which having cool Russian names. Kalashnikov, Sveshnikov, Scheviningan, Taimanov, Najdorph, Rossolimo, Hyper Accelerated Dragon. I think being top tier, aggressive, dynamic, and demanding of lots of study/practice makes the Sicilian and Fox an easy choice.
Marth: Ruy Lopez
The primary weapon of every GM playing 1.e4 is the Ruy Lopez, aka the Spanish. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 both players are developing their pieces and fighting for the center as directly as possible. Both of the concepts of development and central control are crucial for beginners to understand, so this is a solid choice for beginners while still being viable, if not optimal, for players all the way up the ladder.
Falco: Italian 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4
The Italian opening dominated the Romantic Era of chess (1800s until Steinitz). While today there are many very calm ways to play this opening, back in the day (and still today, just not as much) The Italian was the choice of many to initiate rapid attacks on Black’s f7 square, often sacrificing pawns or pieces for initiative. These attacks were often very double edged and led to very entertaining games.
Puff: London
The London System is called a system because white essentially doesn’t care how black will respond to his moves. After d4, Bf4, Nf3, e3, c3, Nd2, O-O, white is all but forcing black to play at white’s pace. It might not be tough to guess that this opening has its share of haters due to its forcing nature. Still it is played by even Magnus Carlsen on occasion, and will likely remain relevant for longer than most of us would like to admit.
Falcon: Kings Gambit
e4 e5 f4. Always a crowd pleaser, the King’s Gambit (coming soon on Netflix) offers black a pawn in exchange for open lines and attacking possibilities. During the Romantic Era, it was second only to the Italian in popularity. This era was defined by being almost anti-materialistic, where gambits and sacrifices were very popular. The opportunities to style on your opponents are endless, the only problem with this comparison is that The King’s Gambit is not popular today while of course Captain Falcon has been enjoying plenty of success this year.
Peach: Grunfeld
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.nc3 d5 The big link here is trading. The Grunfeld’s main line reaches a near-endgame position where many of the pieces are exchanged. The Grunfeld can be described as a Hypermodern opening, which is a term built around the idea of allowing your opponent to claim the center of the board and then later undermining it. I think it’s fair that Peach and several other characters could be described as hyper modern, not interested in approaching but rather allowing their opponents to overextend themselves.
Sheik: Caro Kann
After 1.e4 c6 black will look to strike in the center with d5. Sheik is often recommended to beginners as a good character to start out with. I might be somewhat of a heretic among chess coaches for suggesting that the Caro Kann is a great choice for beginners, as conventional coaching wisdom is to have new players play e5 in response to e4, the Caro Kann comes with a very easy to understand plan of directly undermining white’s center with the c and d pawns. It can be frustrating to deal with as white, as black manages to stay pretty solid despite having a little less mobility.
Pikachu: Dutch 1.d4 f5
The poor man’s Sicilian. The Dutch in chess is about as popular as Pikachu is in Melee. Still, it’s far from refuted and can give black a good fighting chance especially considering in all likelihood white will be inexperienced in the lines.
ICS: Scholars mate
1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Qxf7# In chess, thankfully, wobbling was patched out of the game in the late 1700s. The closest thing to wobbling in chess today is what’s known as the Windmill tactic. But as far as openings, Scholar’s Mate seemed appropriate. This four move checkmate is the ultimate cheese strategy, and should be the go to option for beating your uncle. It requires no studying beyond just memorizing those moves and you’ll likely at least go 2-2 at your next chess local.
Yoshi Scandinavian (Qd6 line)
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6 Don’t try this at home. The Qd6 line of the Scandinavian is an absolute jungle of theory (as opposed to the more “normal” Qa5 and Qd8 lines) and can easily lead to positions where novices will self implode. The Scandinavian immediately violates the standard opening principle of not bringing your queen out early. You should generally instead be trying to develop knights and bishops, castle, and fight for the center. But the Scandinavian is playable nonetheless, and like Yoshi it manages to put up a fight despite breaking some of the conventional rules of the game.
Samus: Larsen 1.b3
That’s it, one move. White will look to place their dark squared Bishop on b2 and try to maximize the usefulness of the long ranged attack (nice shot haha get it) along the central diagonal. White often stays very “grounded” after black claims the center (pawns on e5 and d5) by playing moves like e3 and f4, trying to maintain the diagonal for the Bishop.
Mario: Four Knights 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6
It’s classic, it’s logical, it’s just not that good. The Four Knights isn’t something you see at the highest level because it just doesn’t do enough to push for an advantage for white. Developing the Knights early is great, and shows good fundamentals, it’s just that this particular move order doesn’t do enough to scare black, unless you’re planning on playing the Halloween Gambit. Mario has plenty of tools, and in the hands of a player with solid fundamentals can be perfectly adequate, he just doesn’t have the ceiling that the characters above him seem to have.
Luigi: Halloween Gambit
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nxe5 It doesn’t get much goofier than this. White will misfire their knight on e5 but achieves a potentially massive pawn center. It’s not exactly a sound idea but it can absolutely humiliate people who aren’t prepared. Admittedly this comparison is more related to Luigi himself rather than his playstyle in Melee.
Young Link: Queen’s Gambit 1.d4 d5 2.c4
Chess players will say “Okay hold up, The Queen’s Gambit is top tier and YL is...not. Explain yourself.” This characteopening share an interesting connection in that both were unexpectedly brought out by a world champion in a very high stakes match. Bobby Fischer, a lifelong e4 player, surprised Spassky by playing a Queen’s Gambit during their ‘72 Championship match. Beth Harmon (the fictional main character in Netflix’s Queen’s Gambit, heavily inspired by Bobby Fischer) did the same in her final game of the series. Armada, as you know, famously used Young Link as a surprise weapon vs. Hbox.
Kirby: Fried Liver 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7
Remember when you were 8 years old and Kirby was an absolute rockstar? When standing near the ledge holding B was virtually unbeatable? You can experience that same joy once again through the Fried Liver Attack. It won’t work once you reach a rating where people know how to avoid this, but until that time the Fried Liver is as broken as Kirby on the ledge. You lure the black king to the center while rapidly developing, and it’s pretty much lights out from there.
Giga Bowser: Bongcloud 1.e4 e5 2.Ke2!
Literally unbeatable. The White King immediately makes his way to the center and starts up-b out of shielding and takes out every other piece in the process. If this opening appeals to you anarchychess is waiting for you with open arms.
This next section will be on player:player comparisons.
Armada: Magnus Carlsen This one is simple. A couple Scandinavian BOATs (GOATs?). Magnus is the current World Champion and easily the greatest endgame player of all time. He will grind seemingly drawn positions for much longer than most would be willing to, simply because he knows that ultimately his opponent will stumble before he does. He recently set a record for 125 unbeaten games in a row, only wins and draws. To do this against the best in the world is the definition of a brick wall.
Hbox: Hikaru Nakamura The controversial ones. Both maintain massive fanbases as well as a large crowd of haters. Hikaru has exploded on Twitch recently, and while he isn’t in contention for World Champ (slow chess) like he previously was, he’s still second only to Magnus in blitz. He absolutely has it in him to jump back into the elite scene, but his success in streaming might be tempting enough for him to just do that instead.
Mango: Garry Kasparov GOAT. When it comes to getting into an opponent’s head, nobody does/did it better than Mang0 and Kasparov. Kasparov dominated for over a decade, and reached the second highest rating (2851 Elo) ever, Magnus (2882) being the highest. Kasparov was know for having an incredibly intimidating presence over the board, and at his peak was capable of making even the best players look like amateurs. His level of dominance over modern players will likely never be repeated.
Zain: Alireza Firouja Firouja is a 17 year old phenom and is a very popular answer to the question “Who will eventually dethrone Magnus?” Their career paths are far from identical, as Zain is already a pretty clear #1, but Alireza seems to be the most promising of all the recent prodigies we’ve seen in chess, and as a fan of chess and Firouja I hope this comparison stands the rest of time.
Leffen: Bobby Fischer If there ever was a “God” era in chess, it would have to be 1948-1972, where we had plenty of different World Champions, but they were all Soviets. Coincidentally, five of them: Botvinik, Smyslov, Tal, Petrosian, and Spassky. Who would be the one to finally end the Soviet domination? Fischer of course. Both Fischer and Leffen have had some controversial opinions in the past, but thankfully at least none of Leffen’s were antisemetic or misogynistic. Fischer had some issues towards the end of his life, to say the least.
Isai: Paul Morphy Both geniuses in every sense of the word. The embodiment of their respective games. Morphy was the shining star of the Romantic Era, and in the 1850s was by far the best player in the world, when he felt like it. He refused to accept money for chess as his family felt chess was not a respectable career, and in those days, it wasn’t. His career was tragically short, and for that reason is referred to as “The Pride and Sorrow of Chess”. He learned the game without books, or teachers, or YouTube videos and laid the path for every player after him.
M2k: Wilhelm Steinitz Steinitz brought an end to the Romantic Era of chess. He was the first official World Champion (as proclaimed by... himself, and nobody could really argue). After Morphy retired, Steinitz eventually found himself on top, and he stayed there for longer than anyone in history. Perhaps the first player to truly figure out how to defend, he took great pride in dismantling Romantic attacks that are now seen as a bit primitive, and he is considered the father of modern chess.
Hax: Vishwanathan Anand In the early 2000s, Anand was one of the first big proponents of using chess engines to prepare for serious games. He was among the first to fully utilize the power of computer preparation, and in this way brought about chess’s own 20XX.
Plup: Alexander Grischuk Grischuk is a current top 10 and former Blitz World Champion. Speed is definitely at the heart of this comparison, but both players have shown great aptitude for other games, Plup being a great Minesweeper player and Grischuk having an impressive poker career under his belt.
Wizzy: Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa Both players were born in 2005 and share an uncharacteristic tendency for younger players, and that is to play “lame”. In chess, it is normal for younger players to seek crazy tactical positions, and as they get older begin to favor more dry, strategic maneuvers. Praggnanandhaa has defied this stereotype and reached the chess maturity required to play lame, which has allowed him to achieve the title of 4th youngest grandmaster ever.
How get good?
So let’s get down to it, where does one start? There’s no right or wrong way to learn the game, but some things should certainly be more of a priority than others.
There are three types of moves in chess, strategic moves, tactical moves, and bad moves. Strategic moves are like the neutral game of chess. Imagine a Marth ditto with both players on opposite sides of the stage. There are no combos available, so all you can do is try to improve your stage position. In chess, you won’t always have a move that gives you an instant advantage. Instead, all you can do is to try to put your pieces on “active” squares, where your pieces can later be in position for tactics.
Tactics are the “punish game” of chess, and improving your vision for tactics should be priority number one. Almost all of your games will be decided based on who is better at spotting these tactics. A tactic could be a double attack, a pin, a discovered attack, and various other “tricks” that lead to either winning material (pieces and pawns) or checkmate. The way to improve your tactical vision is simply by doing puzzles. Chess is all about pattern recognition. If I showed a screenshot of a Marth Fox game to Leffen, he could instantly tell me seven different reasons why Fox is about to die and what each player should do. A good chess player can see a position and immediately start noticing the key features and motifs. The more puzzles you do, the easier it will be to start seeing the same ideas in your own games.
Speaking of your own games, the second most important thing you can do is to analyze your games (every single game always) with either an engine or a stronger player. Playing friendlies mindlessly for hours won’t help you in Melee, and it won’t help you in chess. If you aren’t learning from your mistakes, and more importantly WHY you are making these mistakes, improving will be much more of a struggle. You should also aim to play as slowly as you can stand to. I think 15 minutes per side should be as fast as you go, and even slower than that is better. Just like with learning an instrument, if you can’t play a passage slowly, it isn’t gonna happen at a faster tempo either. As far as where to play, I’ll parrot my favorite subreddit and just say Lichess good Chess.com bad.
Endgames should be prioritized over openings to begin with. This might sound backwards, but what good is being a rook up in material if you can’t mate with King + Rook vs King? This is a 100% win for the side with the rook, but only if you know how to do it.
And of course, YouTube is your best friend. For openings, I quite like Hanging Pawns General learning: St. Louis Chess Club Gotham Chess Naroditsky Grandmaster recaps: Agadmator Engine vs Engine recaps: KingCrusher
Also any lesson involving a beginner (everyone involved in Pogchamps and Smasher’s Gambit) and a master would be worth watching. Just dear lord don’t watch Mang0’s lesson with Eric Hanson, I could feel my Elo plummeting after just ten minutes.
So remember to check out Smasher’s Gambit this weekend, (edit: today at 2pm pacific, noon tomorrow) my expert hot takes are IBDW will win (Ludwig is pfavorite) while Mang0 will unfortunately lose every game.
So that’s all folks. Enjoy the journey, have fun with it, and most importantly, have fun with it.

The Melee Player’s Introduction to Chess

Try to control the center
Develop your knights and bishops
Castle

Every position demands different things, and the things I listed above are just suggestions. There are plenty of ways each color can choose to approach the opening, let’s take a look at a few.
imgur album of every position/character
Fox: Open Sicilian 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3
Starting from the top, we have Fox and the Sicilian defense. The Sicilian is a top of the line aggressive response to 1.e4 with the move 1...c5. The Open Sicilian is reached after white plays Nf3 and d4. These positions are incredibly rich in theory, with some lines being analyzed past move 30. So needless to say, you need to know what you’re doing. The Sicilian might also be the most versatile response to 1.e4 as there are already dozens of variations black can choose from, most of which having cool Russian names. Kalashnikov, Sveshnikov, Scheviningan, Taimanov, Najdorph, Rossolimo, Hyper Accelerated Dragon. I think being top tier, aggressive, dynamic, and demanding of lots of study/practice makes the Sicilian and Fox an easy choice.
Marth: Ruy Lopez
The primary weapon of every GM playing 1.e4 is the Ruy Lopez, aka the Spanish. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 both players are developing their pieces and fighting for the center as directly as possible. Both of the concepts of development and central control are crucial for beginners to understand, so this is a solid choice for beginners while still being viable, if not optimal, for players all the way up the ladder.
Falco: Italian 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4
The Italian opening dominated the Romantic Era of chess (1800s until Steinitz). While today there are many very calm ways to play this opening, back in the day (and still today, just not as much) The Italian was the choice of many to initiate rapid attacks on Black’s f7 square, often sacrificing pawns or pieces for initiative. These attacks were often very double edged and led to very entertaining games.
Puff: London
The London System is called a system because white essentially doesn’t care how black will respond to his moves. After d4, Bf4, Nf3, e3, c3, Nd2, O-O, white is all but forcing black to play at white’s pace. It might not be tough to guess that this opening has its share of haters due to its forcing nature. Still it is played by even Magnus Carlsen on occasion, and will likely remain relevant for longer than most of us would like to admit.
Falcon: Kings Gambit
e4 e5 f4. Always a crowd pleaser, the King’s Gambit (coming soon on Netflix) offers black a pawn in exchange for open lines and attacking possibilities. During the Romantic Era, it was second only to the Italian in popularity. This era was defined by being almost anti-materialistic, where gambits and sacrifices were very popular. The opportunities to style on your opponents are endless, the only problem with this comparison is that The King’s Gambit is not popular today while of course Captain Falcon has been enjoying plenty of success this year.
Peach: Grunfeld
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.nc3 d5 The big link here is trading. The Grunfeld’s main line reaches a near-endgame position where many of the pieces are exchanged. The Grunfeld can be described as a Hypermodern opening, which is a term built around the idea of allowing your opponent to claim the center of the board and then later undermining it. I think it’s fair that Peach and several other characters could be described as hyper modern, not interested in approaching but rather allowing their opponents to overextend themselves.
Sheik: Caro Kann
After 1.e4 c6 black will look to strike in the center with d5. Sheik is often recommended to beginners as a good character to start out with. I might be somewhat of a heretic among chess coaches for suggesting that the Caro Kann is a great choice for beginners, as conventional coaching wisdom is to have new players play e5 in response to e4, the Caro Kann comes with a very easy to understand plan of directly undermining white’s center with the c and d pawns. It can be frustrating to deal with as white, as black manages to stay pretty solid despite having a little less mobility.
Pikachu: Dutch 1.d4 f5
The poor man’s Sicilian. The Dutch in chess is about as popular as Pikachu is in Melee. Still, it’s far from refuted and can give black a good fighting chance especially considering in all likelihood white will be inexperienced in the lines.
ICS: Scholars mate
1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Qxf7# In chess, thankfully, wobbling was patched out of the game in the late 1700s. The closest thing to wobbling in chess today is what’s known as the Windmill tactic. But as far as openings, Scholar’s Mate seemed appropriate. This four move checkmate is the ultimate cheese strategy, and should be the go to option for beating your uncle. It requires no studying beyond just memorizing those moves and you’ll likely at least go 2-2 at your next chess local.
Yoshi Scandinavian (Qd6 line)
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6 Don’t try this at home. The Qd6 line of the Scandinavian is an absolute jungle of theory (as opposed to the more “normal” Qa5 and Qd8 lines) and can easily lead to positions where novices will self implode. The Scandinavian immediately violates the standard opening principle of not bringing your queen out early. You should generally instead be trying to develop knights and bishops, castle, and fight for the center. But the Scandinavian is playable nonetheless, and like Yoshi it manages to put up a fight despite breaking some of the conventional rules of the game.
Samus: Larsen 1.b3
That’s it, one move. White will look to place their dark squared Bishop on b2 and try to maximize the usefulness of the long ranged attack (nice shot haha get it) along the central diagonal. White often stays very “grounded” after black claims the center (pawns on e5 and d5) by playing moves like e3 and f4, trying to maintain the diagonal for the Bishop.
Mario: Four Knights 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6
It’s classic, it’s logical, it’s just not that good. The Four Knights isn’t something you see at the highest level because it just doesn’t do enough to push for an advantage for white. Developing the Knights early is great, and shows good fundamentals, it’s just that this particular move order doesn’t do enough to scare black, unless you’re planning on playing the Halloween Gambit. Mario has plenty of tools, and in the hands of a player with solid fundamentals can be perfectly adequate, he just doesn’t have the ceiling that the characters above him seem to have.
Luigi: Halloween Gambit
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nxe5 It doesn’t get much goofier than this. White will misfire their knight on e5 but achieves a potentially massive pawn center. It’s not exactly a sound idea but it can absolutely humiliate people who aren’t prepared. Admittedly this comparison is more related to Luigi himself rather than his playstyle in Melee.
Young Link: Queen’s Gambit 1.d4 d5 2.c4
Chess players will say “Okay hold up, The Queen’s Gambit is top tier and YL is...not. Explain yourself.” This characteopening share an interesting connection in that both were unexpectedly brought out by a world champion in a very high stakes match. Bobby Fischer, a lifelong e4 player, surprised Spassky by playing a Queen’s Gambit during their ‘72 Championship match. Beth Harmon (the fictional main character in Netflix’s Queen’s Gambit, heavily inspired by Bobby Fischer) did the same in her final game of the series. Armada, as you know, famously used Young Link as a surprise weapon vs. Hbox.
Kirby: Fried Liver 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7
Remember when you were 8 years old and Kirby was an absolute rockstar? When standing near the ledge holding B was virtually unbeatable? You can experience that same joy once again through the Fried Liver Attack. It won’t work once you reach a rating where people know how to avoid this, but until that time the Fried Liver is as broken as Kirby on the ledge. You lure the black king to the center while rapidly developing, and it’s pretty much lights out from there.
Giga Bowser: Bongcloud 1.e4 e5 2.Ke2!
Literally unbeatable. The White King immediately makes his way to the center and starts up-b out of shielding and takes out every other piece in the process. If this opening appeals to you anarchychess is waiting for you with open arms.
This next section will be on player:player comparisons.
Armada: Magnus Carlsen This one is simple. A couple Scandinavian BOATs (GOATs?). Magnus is the current World Champion and easily the greatest endgame player of all time. He will grind seemingly drawn positions for much longer than most would be willing to, simply because he knows that ultimately his opponent will stumble before he does. He recently set a record for 125 unbeaten games in a row, only wins and draws. To do this against the best in the world is the definition of a brick wall.
Hbox: Hikaru Nakamura The controversial ones. Both maintain massive fanbases as well as a large crowd of haters. Hikaru has exploded on Twitch recently, and while he isn’t in contention for World Champ (slow chess) like he previously was, he’s still second only to Magnus in blitz. He absolutely has it in him to jump back into the elite scene, but his success in streaming might be tempting enough for him to just do that instead.
Mango: Garry Kasparov GOAT. When it comes to getting into an opponent’s head, nobody does/did it better than Mang0 and Kasparov. Kasparov dominated for over a decade, and reached the second highest rating (2851 Elo) ever, Magnus (2882) being the highest. Kasparov was know for having an incredibly intimidating presence over the board, and at his peak was capable of making even the best players look like amateurs. His level of dominance over modern players will likely never be repeated.
Zain: Alireza Firouja Firouja is a 17 year old phenom and is a very popular answer to the question “Who will eventually dethrone Magnus?” Their career paths are far from identical, as Zain is already a pretty clear #1, but Alireza seems to be the most promising of all the recent prodigies we’ve seen in chess, and as a fan of chess and Firouja I hope this comparison stands the rest of time.
Leffen: Bobby Fischer If there ever was a “God” era in chess, it would have to be 1948-1972, where we had plenty of different World Champions, but they were all Soviets. Coincidentally, five of them: Botvinik, Smyslov, Tal, Petrosian, and Spassky. Who would be the one to finally end the Soviet domination? Fischer of course. Both Fischer and Leffen have had some controversial opinions in the past, but thankfully at least none of Leffen’s were antisemetic or misogynistic. Fischer had some issues towards the end of his life, to say the least.
Isai: Paul Morphy Both geniuses in every sense of the word. The embodiment of their respective games. Morphy was the shining star of the Romantic Era, and in the 1850s was by far the best player in the world, when he felt like it. He refused to accept money for chess as his family felt chess was not a respectable career, and in those days, it wasn’t. His career was tragically short, and for that reason is referred to as “The Pride and Sorrow of Chess”. He learned the game without books, or teachers, or YouTube videos and laid the path for every player after him.
M2k: Wilhelm Steinitz Steinitz brought an end to the Romantic Era of chess. He was the first official World Champion (as proclaimed by... himself, and nobody could really argue). After Morphy retired, Steinitz eventually found himself on top, and he stayed there for longer than anyone in history. Perhaps the first player to truly figure out how to defend, he took great pride in dismantling Romantic attacks that are now seen as a bit primitive, and he is considered the father of modern chess.
Hax: Vishwanathan Anand In the early 2000s, Anand was one of the first big proponents of using chess engines to prepare for serious games. He was among the first to fully utilize the power of computer preparation, and in this way brought about chess’s own 20XX.
Plup: Alexander Grischuk Grischuk is a current top 10 and former Blitz World Champion. Speed is definitely at the heart of this comparison, but both players have shown great aptitude for other games, Plup being a great Minesweeper player and Grischuk having an impressive poker career under his belt.
Wizzy: Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa Both players were born in 2005 and share an uncharacteristic tendency for younger players, and that is to play “lame”. In chess, it is normal for younger players to seek crazy tactical positions, and as they get older begin to favor more dry, strategic maneuvers. Praggnanandhaa has defied this stereotype and reached the chess maturity required to play lame, which has allowed him to achieve the title of 4th youngest grandmaster ever.
How get good?
So let’s get down to it, where does one start? There’s no right or wrong way to learn the game, but some things should certainly be more of a priority than others.
There are three types of moves in chess, strategic moves, tactical moves, and bad moves. Strategic moves are like the neutral game of chess. Imagine a Marth ditto with both players on opposite sides of the stage. There are no combos available, so all you can do is try to improve your stage position. In chess, you won’t always have a move that gives you an instant advantage. Instead, all you can do is to try to put your pieces on “active” squares, where your pieces can later be in position for tactics.
Tactics are the “punish game” of chess, and improving your vision for tactics should be priority number one. Almost all of your games will be decided based on who is better at spotting these tactics. A tactic could be a double attack, a pin, a discovered attack, and various other “tricks” that lead to either winning material (pieces and pawns) or checkmate. The way to improve your tactical vision is simply by doing puzzles. Chess is all about pattern recognition. If I showed a screenshot of a Marth Fox game to Leffen, he could instantly tell me seven different reasons why Fox is about to die and what each player should do. A good chess player can see a position and immediately start noticing the key features and motifs. The more puzzles you do, the easier it will be to start seeing the same ideas in your own games.
Speaking of your own games, the second most important thing you can do is to analyze your games (every single game always) with either an engine or a stronger player. Playing friendlies mindlessly for hours won’t help you in Melee, and it won’t help you in chess. If you aren’t learning from your mistakes, and more importantly WHY you are making these mistakes, improving will be much more of a struggle. You should also aim to play as slowly as you can stand to. I think 15 minutes per side should be as fast as you go, and even slower than that is better. Just like with learning an instrument, if you can’t play a passage slowly, it isn’t gonna happen at a faster tempo either. As far as where to play, I’ll parrot my favorite subreddit and just say Lichess good Chess.com bad.
Endgames should be prioritized over openings to begin with. This might sound backwards, but what good is being a rook up in material if you can’t mate with King + Rook vs King? This is a 100% win for the side with the rook, but only if you know how to do it.
And of course, YouTube is your best friend. For openings, I quite like Hanging Pawns General learning: St. Louis Chess Club Gotham Chess Naroditsky Grandmaster recaps: Agadmator Engine vs Engine recaps: KingCrusher
Also any lesson involving a beginner (everyone involved in Pogchamps and Smasher’s Gambit) and a master would be worth watching. Just dear lord don’t watch Mang0’s lesson with Eric Hanson, I could feel my Elo plummeting after just ten minutes.
So remember to check out Smasher’s Gambit this weekend, my expert hot takes are IBDW will win (Ludwig is favorite) while Mang0 will unfortunately lose every game.
So that’s all folks. Enjoy the journey, have fun with it, and most importantly, have fun with it.

2021 Mock Draft v5

Hello yall, its been a while since I posted my last mock. Its been interesting to see how the teams and prospects have moved around so far. Draft order is from Tankathon
1 - Jacksonville Jaguars - Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson - TLaw showed that he was a huge bust yesterday, and that’s a perfect fit for a Jags franchise that loves their huge busts. Just kidding, of course. Lawrence did have a rather poor game, but he still had some bright spots in it, and there’s no reason to let 1 single poor performance overshadow the years of dominance he’s displayed. Lawrence is still a generational prospect who should be the centerpoint of the Jags for the next decade.
2 - New York Jets - Justin Fields, QB, OSU - On the flip side, Fields has managed to finally break free of the pesky Zach Wilson truthers that have been hot on his tail for the recent weeks with a truly dominant performance against Clemson that showed off Fields at his best. He’s not the prospect that Lawrence is, but he’s one hell of a consolation prize. There’s definitely still some flaws that must be addressed, but if the Jets can build an offense catered to his strengths, there's no reason to not think he won’t be the QB that finally brings hope back to the Jets.
3 - Miami (Via HOU) - Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon - There’s going to be a lot of chatter here about either moving down or selecting a different QB, but I think when a generational OT prospect like Sewell is there, Miami should just run to the podium and land him. He’s been compared to guys like Orlando Pace and Joe Thomas, which is a very lofty company to be in. Miami’s offensive line deficiencies are masked by how quickly their QBs throw the ball, and Sewell should be able to slot in immediately at RT, Tua’s blindside, and be a high level OT from day 1. There's no reason to overthink this pick. Just lock in and solidify your OL for the next decade.
4 - Atlanta Falcons - Zach Wilson, QB, BYU - I am almost 100% certain Zach Wilson will go at 4. I'm not sure if it’ll be Atlanta picking him, but I can't see him falling past here. Wilson to Atlanta is a fit that makes sense in my mind if the Falcons want to begin their transition into a new regime. Matt Ryan is still a fine QB, but he’s aging at this point, and it's hard to say how much longer he can play at an elite level. Wilson, however, has played himself straight into the QB2 conversation, even though Fields has managed to regain hold of it. He’s someone who screams playmaker, a gunslinger who isn't afraid to use his legs to extend plays and someone who’s shown a ton of improvement over the years. His accuracy is excellent at all 3 levels of the field, and both his touch and his mechanics are extremely good. There’s a problem of him being a bit too aggressive at times, but IMO it's much better to have too much faith in your WRs than too little, something that shouldn't even be a problem with Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley. Sure, the Falcons could try to run it back by drafting a defensive player, but they have a nasty habit of winning meaningless games, and this might be the closest they get to a QB prospect of Wilson’s calibur for the next 5 years. Better to move on a year early than a year late, and so ATL lands the guy who might end up being the face of ATL for the next decade. If Atlanta decides to trade down, SF presents an enticing option, and you can just swap the names of the teams.
5 - Carolina Panthers (Via Cincinnati Bengals - Sends 1.8, 3.73, 2022 2nd for 1.5) - Trey Lance, QB, NDSU - Teddy Bridgewater is not the long term solution for the Panthers, and Carolina gets a good deal here to move up to secure their QB of the future. Lance is someone who is still extremely raw, with an absolute cannon of an arm and all the upside in the world. Despite the connotation around players with arms similar to his, he’s surprisingly accurate with the ball, having done an excellent job of avoiding turnovers in college, which is no small feat for any QB at any level. There’s also a big running upside here, as Lance is able to use his legs to punish defenses just as much as he can use his arm, as well as the fact that Lance seems to have great poise, never getting too rattled. However, Lance will likely need time to transition to NFL level competition, especially the mental aspect of the game. He’s got a tendency to just run if his first read isn't open, which has more to do with NDSU’s scheme, but it will still be something that needs to be worked on at the NFL level. He will also need to learn how to make pre-snap adjustments, something that a similar QB in Josh Allen had some experience with in college that Lance doesn't have due to the difference between NDSU and Wyoming’s offensive schemes. Still, there is a lot to like here, and as long as Lance has a great work ethic and maturity, this is a guy who could be as good as any of the QBs taken above him. It might take longer, but the success of similarly raw players such as Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen should at least be a sign of optimism for the Panthers.
6 - Eagles - Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU - The Eagles have had some pretty severe regrets with their last 2 WR picks, but that should stop here. Ja’Marr Chase is the best WR prospect in the class, despite missing the entire year. That's just how dominant his 2019 season was. He’s an excellent deep route runner who’s exceedingly hard to bring down, and excels in YAC situations, someone who’s dominated some of the best CB prospects in the NCAA. This is a player who can come in and be that alpha WR that the Eagles haven't had since Alshon Jeffery was actually good.
7 - Lions - Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State - The Lions defense is utterly terrible, and Parsons is the best defensive prospect in the class. It's a bonus that he plays at the position where the Lions are the absolute worst, with disappointments like Jarrad Davis and Jahvani Tavai. Parsons basically does it all at LB. He blitzes well, he tackles well, he covers well enough. There's very few flaws here, mostly nitpicks, and Parsons should be a leader from day one who will help revamp the Lions defense.
8 - Cincinnati Bengals(Via Carolina Panthers) - Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech - Ja’Marr Chase will probably be the most popular pick to the Bengals for good reason, but I personally feel like Cincinnati must address their OL situation, especially with Burrow coming off that huge injury. The Bengals could have the best WR corps in the league and it wouldn't matter if Burrow is getting flattened immediately. That's why I have them moving down and landing Christian Darrisaw, the mauling monster of an OT out of Virginia Tech. He’s got the size and length of an NFL tackle, and he has excellent agility and balance for someone of his size. His anchor is very strong, and can be very hard to move when he gets set. There’s some cleaning up that needs to be done with his footwork, but IMO he’s someone who can start from day 1 and protect either side of Burrow.
9 - Denver Broncos - Patrick Surtain II, CB, Alabama - The Broncos really need a CB, with Callahan currently being injured, Michael Ojumedia having a very up and down season, and AJ Bouye very likely gone this season. Patrick Surtain II is a CB who fits the mold of what NFL teams are looking for in their ideal CBs, and someone who excels at mirroring WRs, sticky as glue at times. He also possesses excellent ball skills, and excels at breaking at passes. There’s some questions about his short area quickness and long speed, and he needs to learn to stop lagging behind WRs, but he should still be able to be an immediate starter at CB1 or CB2. There will be a lot of eyes on the national championship game, and if he can shut down Olave or Wilson, it might boost his stock even more.
10 - Dallas Cowboys - Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech - Dallas needs CBs even worse than Denver, with no real building blocks in that area outside of Trevon Diggs. That should change with the addition of Farley. He’s a long, smooth and exceedingly skill CB who excels in press coverage. His hips are fantastic and it's almost as if he’s the WR at times. All in all, it combines to make a player that was trusted to hold his own on an island constantly, and excelled at it. There are some injury concerns here, as well as the fact that his zone coverage isn’t quite up to par at times, but the talent is absolutely here, and Farley should be a high level corner in the NFL.
11 - New York Giants - DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama - The Giants are lucky enough to where a WR prospect that I’d consider as good as Ja’Marr Chase falls into their laps at 11. DeVonta Smith has been utterly dominant for Alabama this year, lighting up defenses on his way to a Heisman nomination and a showdown in the National Championship. What is there to say here that Smith hasn't proven on the field? He led the Crimson Tide in receiving yards when they had 3 other first rounders on the roster, then did it again as the focal point of the offense after 2 left for the draft and the other one was injured for the year. I don't think he clocks in as super fast, but he’s got game speed and seems to be able to burn opposing corners. His frame and ability to deal with press coverage could be issues at the next level, but his route running is so good that he should excel from day 1. The small flaws in Smith’s game can be addressed pretty easily, and the Giants should be ecstatic to add a player like him to their team.
12 - San Francisco 49ers - Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina - The 49ers actually need CB even more than Dallas and Denver. They pretty much have 0 corners under contract next year, which means that CB is a very dire need. And here goes the last of the CB prospects that I consider to be truly excellent in the big 3 of Surtain/Farley/Horn. Horn is a big physical press corner who’s played both inside and out in his time at South Carolina, giving him some versatility as he’s been matched up against both outside guys and big slots like Kyle Pitts. I don't think he’s quite as good at mirroring WRs as Farley or Surtain and he’s a little grabby at times, but he’s absolutely fantastic at disrupting them at the LOS. He should be an immediate replacement for one of the CBs that the 49ers lose this offseason, and be a great boon to their defense once their pass rush is back at full force.
13 - LA Chargers - Rashawn Slater, OL, Northwestern - Having seen what happened to Joe Burrow, the Chargers realize that they need to protect Herbert, lest he falls into the same fate as his fellow QB. They need to protect their franchise guy, and that starts and ends with bolstering the offensive line. Slater’s a bit of an interesting case as he’s a later riser who actually opted out this year, but he’s a fluid and powerful athlete who can both climb into the second level and erupt off the line to bully defenders, with a bonus of being able to play any position on the line. His footwork, balance, and hand placement is also great. Slater’s main claim to fame so far is that he was able to take on Chase Young and hold his own, which is an extremely impressive feat. There are some concerns that keep him from going higher, such as being a little stiff and issues when dealing with bull rushes, but the main question mark is if he has long enough arms to play tackle in the NFL. Still, Slater should be a ok OT, although I personally think he’d be better off moving inside and dominating there instead.
14 - Miami Dolphins (Via Minnesota Vikings - sends 1.18, 3.82 for 1.14) - Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama - Miami kills three birds with one stone here, linking Tua up with an old teammate, adding the deep threat that their team desperately needs, and stealing the last of the top WR prospects from under the nose of their division rival. Waddle, like Ruggs before him, is a speed demon that excels as a deep threat, but he also reads the field well to know how to cut through defenses to cause maximum damage. He’d be a perfect fit in a Miami offense that really needs someone who can stretch the field. The main concern with Waddle is how developed his route tree is, something that wasn't helped when he went down with an injury, but if his 5 games were anything to go by, that shouldn't be too much of an issue.
15 - Cleveland Browns (Via New England Patriots - Sends 1.23, 3.88 for 1.15) - Kwity Paye, EDGE, Michigan - The Browns are a team on the rise, but sometimes it feels like their defensive line is just Myles Garrett. Adding Paye to their defensive line should help a lot with that. Paye isn't the type who racks up gaudy stats, but he is an absolute freak at fighting through offensive lines and collapsing pockets. He’s got very good hands and fantastic strength, which leads to him getting a ton of pressure consistently. In fact, I believe he actually led the NCAA in pressure rate in 2019 and 2020. He probably won't be someone who constantly gets 10+ sack seasons without a bit more developing, but he could definitely be a Clowney/Graham type of player who causes a ton of havoc and demands attention, which would be a huge boon to an already dominant Garrett.
16 - Arizona Cardinals - Gregory Rousseau, EDGE/DE, Miami - Haason Reddick has truly broken out and Chandler Jones is returning for the season, but that's no reason to pass up on the extremely raw but talented Rousseau here. Rousseau really doesn't have many moves and needs developing, but his versatility and ceiling make him a hard player to pass up here. And it's not like he doesn't produce, considering his fantastic 2019 season where he notched 15.5 sacks and 19.5 TFLs. He’s lined up all over the defensive line, dominating with just his raw athleticism and high motor. He’ll be fantastic as a player at EDGE, DE, or even NT to start, and if the Cardinals can refine his technique more, he’ll be a huge mismatch all over the defensive line.
17 - Oakland Raiders - Daviyon Nixon, iDL, Iowa - The Raiders really could use some pass rush, especially on the interior. Nixon would be a wonderful fit there. As a serious freak athlete who’s dominated B1G offensive lines all year long, Nixon is someone who is best when he’s free to smash through opposing offensive lines, especially in one on one situations. His ability to cause serious problems down the middle should be able to help alleviate some pressure on both Maxx Crosby and Clelin Ferrell, and give the Raiders defense a boost for when they aren't playing the Chiefs.
18 - Minnesota Vikings (via MIA) - Wyatt Davis, OL, Ohio State - Kirk Cousins is a good QB, but it seems like he’s consistently unable to perform due to the Vikings OL. In fact, the Vikings OL somehow managed to let in more pressure than last year, which combined with a horrid defense resulted in a seriously missed opportunity to make the playoffs this year. I have some faith the Vikings defense should improve with players returning from injury and becoming more accustomed to the NFL, but I do not have anywhere near as much faith in the OL improving. Minnesota has 3 building blocks in their offensive line in Reiff, Bradbury, and Ezra Cleveland, but that leaves at least one guard spot as a serious hole. Thus, they address it by adding Wyatt Davis, who’s been fantastic out of Ohio State. He’s been pretty good for the majority of the year, and was a big part of Trey Sermon’s baptism of Clemson. He’s already a fantastic run blocker, and his pass blocking is decent, although there will be some improvements here with his stance and identifying assignments, but I'm certain it’s something that can be ironed out with time. He should be an immediate upgrade over Dakota Dozier or anyone else Minnesota is going to play opposite of Cleveland.
19 - Washington Football Team - Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota - Terry McLaurin is an elite WR, but WFT really should get him some help. After him, Washington really doesn't have any good weapons at WR. Time to fix that with the addition of Bateman. He’s a great route runner who can consistently get separation alongside extremely sure hands and solid YAC ability. There’s no question that this is a guy who knows how to get open, snag a ball, and fight for a few more yards, and his size and physicality would be a fantastic compliment with McLaurin, alleviating pressure off WFT’s star receiver. They should make a great duo for whatever QB WFT ends up anointing their franchise savior.
20 - Chicago Bears - Samuel Cosmi, OT, Texas - Charles Leno and Bobby Massie are not worth their contracts, and both could very easily end up being cut. A replacement at OT is needed here ASAP. Cosmi’s a tantalizing prospect, with tons of athleticism and a frame that shows plenty of potential as he grows. His pass blocking is pretty good, able to generally deal with speed rushers using his own quickness and he moves well as a run blocker, able to get to the second level pretty well. He needs to improve his technique and add some strength, but he’s a high ceiling prospect who could develop into a truly elite LT and lock down one side of the line for Chicago.
21 - New England Patriots (via JAX via LAR - Sends 1.23, 5.142 for 1.21) - Mac Jones, QB, Alabama - Mac Jones is a QB that has flown up the boards in recent times, having played his way firmly into QB5 at the moment. A smart QB with a good arm who makes good throws and has solid pocket presence, Jones knows how to read the field and make good decisions, and he’s quite good at going through progressions, something that even some of the best prospects in this class struggle with. I'm not too concerned about the fact that he’s probably close to his ceiling already, as the bigger issue for me is that he’s not very mobile, and isn't that great at extending plays, a trait that is pretty critical in today’s NFL. That shouldn't be too much of an issue with the Patriots OL, though, and as long as the Patriots can add some help at wideout, Jones should be a seamless fit in the NFL, especially considering how BB and co succeeded with a QB of a similar mold in the past.
22 - Indianapolis Colts - Jalen Mayfield, OT, Michigan - With Anthony Castanzo tearing his ACL, his time in Indy is probably coming to a close soon. That means LT is a serious need at the moment, especially considering how important the offensive line is to the success of the Colts offense. That's why I have them grabbing Jalen Mayfield, in order to reinforce their offensive line in the likely case Castanzo isn't coming back at full strength, or just isn't coming back. Mayfield’s dependable in the run game, and his feet are pretty good, even if he could use some more refinement technique wise. He’s not at all a finished product and has mostly played at RT in the college level, but if the Colts can fully utilize his athletic gifts, he should be a fantastic LT for them in the future.
23 - Jacksonville Jaguars (via NE via CLE) - Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida - The Jaguars need offensive threats, especially at TE where none of their options inspire much confidence. Kyle Pitts is probably the most dynamic weapon at TE here, and the Jags should be more than happy to pair him up with Lawrence as a versatile weapon who can line up all over the field and dominate. Pitts is a huge and pretty athletic player who fits more of a big slot type than a traditional inline TE, even though he can line up all over to best abuse his combination of route running and size. He’s not a good run blocker, but he gives plenty of effort and that's not too much of an issue anyway, especially in the modern NFL where pass catching is at a premium at the TE position. His route running and ability to get separation will be extremely valuable as a safety blanket for Trevor Lawrence as the young QB gets adjusted to the NFL level, and he should give the Jaguars offense another dimension.
24 - Tennessee Titans - Joseph Ossai, EDGE, Texas - The Titans desperately need a pass rush at the moment. They are the only team in playoff history to make it with less than 20 sacks, which is a pretty ignoble achievement to have. It's something that must be addressed ASAP, which is why Ossai is a great fit here. A bendy speed rusher with the versatility to also play in coverage, Ossai would be perfect next to Rashaan Evans as both could play in space or rush the passer, giving the Titans a lot of versatility in that area. Having played Jack for the Texans, he’d be a great fit immediately, especially with his explosiveness and nasty first step. His addition should give the Titans the help they so desperately need at EDGE.
25 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Azeez Ojulari, EDGE, Georgia - It's hard to picture both Shaquille Barrett and Gholston still being on the roster after 2021, meaning that EDGE is something that needs to be addressed. Fortunately, they have a great building block already on their DL in Vita Vea, and Azeez Ojulari would be a nice addition to that very strong Buccaneers defense. In terms of pure pass rushing, Ojulari is probably the best in the entire class, someone who can rip through offensive lines with excellent hand placement and a lot of bend. He’s a bit weaker as a run defender, but this is a guy who can be a nightmare off the edge and lives to get after the QB.
26 - Baltimore Ravens - Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State - Hollywood Brown is not the guy in Baltimore. He might end up having a solid Ted Ginn like career, but I don't think he’s going to end up being that star WR that the Ravens hoped he would be when they drafted him. So they go with a guy who could be that. Olave isn't the fastest WR, nor does he have the best hands in the class. He struggles against press coverage at times, he’s not even the alpha WR of his own team (That belongs to likely WR1 in 2022 Garrett Wilson), and it's hard to see much more improvement to his frame, meaning he’s pretty close to being at his ceiling. But he is one of the best, if not the best, route runners and separators in the entire class, which is high praise considering the other players in the class. Olave, more than anyone, reminds me of AJ Brown and Justin Jefferson, not in play style, but in the fact that all 3 were overlooked due to concerns against press coverage, possessing lower ceilings than some of their compatriots, and fears that they would mostly be slot guys, which led to Brown dropping to the second and Jefferson falling to 22. I think Olave should be a great player off the bat for the Ravens, as a high floor prospect who should be a contributor immediately, and could become the guy Lamar Jackson builds a rapport with at WR.
27 - New York Jets (Via SEA) - Alijah Vera-Tucker, iOL, USC - After picking Justin Fields, the Jets need to protect their investment. Their tackle situation is fine, with Becton being fantastic, George Fant being serviceable, and Chuma Edoga as a good developmental guy/swing tackle, but their interior situation is a mess. Connor McGovern is probably safe, but neither Alex Lewis nor Greg Van Roten were any good when they played, and I certainly wouldn't want to see them starting again. Protecting the franchise in Justin Fields is extremely important, and so NYJ takes the next step in solidifying their OL with Vera-Tucker. Vera Tucker has a strong anchor, able to hold his own against bull rushes on the interior. He’s not an elite athlete by any means, but he’s good enough to where it's not a detriment, and his hand usage is fantastic, very sound in that area. I'm not sure he’s a great fit for the Jets current ZBS, but that very much could change with whatever new coach is brought in, and AVT is pretty clearly the best iOL on the board here. He should form a very good left side of the line with Becton and McGovern flanking him to protect the Jets QBOTF.
28 - Pittsburgh Steelers - Liam Eichenburg, OT, Notre Dame - With Villaneuva, Banner, Gray and Hawkins all hitting FA this off season, it’ll be hard to bring most of them back, meaning that tackle needs to be addressed ASAP. Liam Eichenburg isn't a physical specimen with a huge ceiling, but he’s someone with a solid floor who could start immediately. A part of a pretty prolific Notre Dame program that has pumped out a lot of NFL level OL, Eichenburg is very clearly well coached, a technician who has a fantastic mind who knows how to diagnose blitzes. His run blocking is also solid, as someone with a good punch who uses his quickness well. Overall, Eichenburg is simply a good player, which is perfect for a contending team like the Steelers.
29 - New Orleans Saints - Kyle Trask, QB, Florida - With Drew Brees projected to retire and Jameis Winston only on a 1 year deal, QB is a huge glaring need for the Saints. Yes, Taysom Hill is an interesting player whose versatility is quite useful at times, but I would absolutely not want him to be my QBOTF, and I cant see Hill ever leading an offense good enough to win multiple playoff games, much less a Super Bowl. The Saints need a concrete answer at QB, and Kyle Trask should be able to be that for them. Trask’s Cotton Bowl performance has probably put a bit of dampening on his hype, but he was playing without his top 3 receivers and Kyle Pitts, which basically accounted for the majority of his passing yards, with only a few practices to prepare, so I wouldn't look into it too much. He’s generally a super accurate QB with a quick release and nice touch, who knows how to use his eyes well, is surprisingly good at adjusting to pressure, and although no one would confuse him with Lamar Jackson, he’s at least willing to try and break off a run or extend a play. His main drawback is his arm, which is pretty weak, there are some mechanical issues that need to be cleaned up, and he does kind of make bad throws at times, something that was definitely highlighted in the game against Oklahoma. Still, he should be good enough to at least be a dollar store version of Drew Brees, which should somewhat cover up his deficiencies, especially considering the bevy of weapons the Saints have with Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara, and the Saints offensive system should fit his skill set like a glove.
30 - Buffalo Bills - Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB, Notre Dame - The Bills should be laughing all the way to the bank at the pick. Matt Milano is an FA and it might be hard to bring him back, which is perfect for Buffalo when the second best LB in the class just drops straight into their laps. JOK perfectly fits what the modern NFL wants in an LB, a speedy LB/S hybrid who covers extremely well and can run around the field with a frenzy, rangy as all hell. He’s definitely undersized, but his mental processor is lightning fast, and his instincts are great. Notre Dame used JOK all over the place, at LB, slot CB, and even EDGE, and although I don't think he’ll be much of a pass rusher at the next level, the ability to move around like that would be a wonderful chip for Sean McDermott to use. Sometimes he’s too aggressive and his tackling form could really stand to be improved, as he seems to be more focused on getting big hits than just wrapping up at times. But JOK would be a fantastic chess piece to place next to Tremaine Edmunds on defense, a true difference maker at WLB who can cover almost anyone and just plays on another gear.
31 - Green Bay Packers - Eric Stokes, CB, Georgia - Jaire Alexander has blossomed into one of the best CBs in the league, but the other CB spot is currently pretty murky for Green Bay. Kevin King is probably gone in FA, and it’s hard to say who’s going to step up and replace him. OCB is a huge need here, something that needs to be addressed ASAP. Eric Stokes should be able to fill in there nicely, as an outside only guy who can play in both man and zone. His ball skills are great, he’s very smart when in zone defense, and he’s lockdown in the red zone, generally able to make plays on those fades and slants. All of these factors should make him a welcome addition to the Packers defense.
32 - Kansas City Chiefs - Zaven Collins, LB, Tulsa - I really considered Jaelen Phillips here, but funnily enough, Zaven Collins actually almost fits exactly what the Chiefs look for in an EDGE rusher, a 6’4, 260 pound physical specimen who has serious pass rushing upside. His pass rushing ability is seriously raw, a complete work in progress, but there’s a ton of upside in that area, as he’s the full package as an athlete. He’s no slouch at the whole linebacker thing either. He’s fantastic in coverage, with great instincts and ball skills for an LB, when paired along with his fluidity and great feet lets him be a surprisingly good ball hawk in that area, with 4 ints on the year. When it comes to run defense, he’s great as well, great at chasing down players and getting through gaps, but he’s got a tendency to try to do too much at times and needs to be more disciplined at times. He’s also got a problem dealing with blockers, and he sometimes struggles to disengage. Still, this is a player who can line up anywhere from EDGE to WILL, and he’d be a perfect chess piece for the Chiefs defense that loves to disguise everything to use. Stick him with Tyrann Matheiu and you can really keep the offenses guessing. This is a player that should be able to immediately contribute at LB, and maybe even transition into a full time EDGE role if the Chiefs can develop him and make use of his many gifts. It might take time, but it's a risk they can afford to take, and Collins should be someone who can contribute on day one and only get better from there.

Each national team's youngest player: Where are they now?

I decided to research who the youngest debutant was for each of the top 50-ranked FIFA teams in the world. My research may not be the best so if you see any errors feel free to point them out, I'lll fix them! If there’s any nation that isn’t on this list who you want to know who the youngest debutant is, just ask.

Belgium

Fernand Nisot, 1911 - 16y, 19d vs. France (14 caps)
Since Nisot made his debut such a long time ago, it’s hard for me to find much information about him. He did win a gold medal with Belgium for football at 1920 Olympic Games held in Antwerp. In terms of club football, he played for R. Léopold Club, now known as Léopold FC. According to Transfermarkt, he took a ‘career break’ from 1914 to 1919 so it is entirely possible he was involved in World War I. He appeared 14 times for Belgium and scored 10 goals for them.

France

Julien Verbrugghe, 1906 - 16y, 306d vs. England Amateurs (4 caps)
On Verbrugghe’s debut, France lost 15-0 to England. And this isn’t even France’s biggest defeat. That came in 1908 when they lost 17-1 to Denmark. Needless to say, France’s national team was on a much ower level than it was today. Verbrugghe played for AS Française and Red Star (the Paris one, not the Belgrade one). Verbrugghe was joined the 43rd Infantry Regiment of the French Army and was unfortunately killed at the Battle of the Somme on August 21, 1916. He was only 26 years old.

Brazil

Pelé, 1957 - 16y, 254d vs. Argentina (92 caps)
Hopefully we have all heard of Pelé and know of his massive reputation so I don’t think I need to go too in-depth. He made his debut for Brazil in a 2-1 loss vs. Argentina. He is Brazil’s leading goalscorer, and won 3 World Cups. He is the youngest player to play in a World Cup Final vs. Sweden in 1958, which he also scored in. In terms of club career, he only played for 2 clubs: Santos and New York Cosmos. He holds many, many more records that I don’t have the time to list here, but as we all know, he is pretty much considered the best ever.

England

Theo Walcott, 2006 - 17y, 75d vs. Hungary (47 caps)
The first player on this list that’s still playing competitive football. Walcott is still at the fresh young age of 31 and playing for Southampton, on loan from Everton. He spent most of his career at Arsenal, being an important player during his 12 years under Wenger. He started at the Swindon Town Academy where he was picked up by Southampton and then later sold to Arsenal in 2006, the same year as his international debut. However, he has not appeared for England since 2016, during a 2-2 draw here he was subbed on for an injured Lallana (of course). His best performance came when he scored a hat-trick against Croatia in 2008.

Portugal

José Gralha, 1921 - 16y, 276d vs. Spain (1 cap)
Again, it’s difficult for me to find much about this player. I do know that he played for Casa Pia at club level, and was a forward. That's about it.

Spain

Ángel Zubieta, 1936 - 17y, 283d vs. Czechoslovakia (2 caps)
Ángel Zubieta’s record-setting appearance for Spain was one of only 2 appearances he made for the Spanish national team. A year later, he declared for the Basque national team and was capped 34 times for them. His playing career was disrupted by the Spanish Civil War and there was a solid 2 years after he left Bilbao that he had no club to play for - only the Basque national team. The Basque national team went on a tour of Central and South America until FIFA declared that the Basque team could no longer play any more FIFA-affiliated national teams due to Spanish Civil War conflicts. So, all the Basque players formed a Mexican club called C.D. Euzkadi, which played in the Mexican Primera Fuerza league for one season. While the club eventually disbanded, since all the players on the club were professionals, the creation of the club led to the professionalization of football in Mexico (Mexico had previously only had amateur clubs). Zubieta joined Argentine side San Lorenzo in 1939, which he played for for 13 years. He eventually returned to Spain where he spent the last 4 years of his career at Deportivo La Coruña. Zubieta turned to management and managed sides in Spain, Portugal, and Mexico throughout the 60s and 70s. The story of C.D. Euzkadi is a really fascinating one and I kind of sped through it so I recommend you check it out.

Uruguay

Horacio Peralta, 1999 - 17y, 65d vs. Venezuela (7 caps)
Horacio Peralta is a true journeyman. After showing promise with Nacional, he was purchased by Inter Milan, a club he made zero appearances for before being sold to Cagliari. And thus, his journeyman career began, playing for clubs in Uruguay, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Switzerland. In total, he has played for 17 senior clubs across an 18-year career. On the international stage, Peralta has had 7 caps.

Argentina

Diego Maradona, 1977 - 16y, 108d vs. Hungary (90 caps)
Another player I think we all know about, especially with the recent tragic news. Diego Maradona made his debut as a sub on for Leopoldo Luque, who had scored 2 goals that match. He won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986 and won Argentina's Footballer of the Year in 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1986. He started at Argentinos Jrs. before moving to Boca Jrs. on loan. He was purchased by Barcelona in 1982 where he spent two seasons before moving to Napoli. There he became a club icon, winning the league twice and the Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup as well. Unfortunately he was banned for a year in 1991 for cocaine use. After his ban he spent a year at Sevilla and another at Newell's before being banned again in 1994. In 1995 he joined Boca Juniors again where he spent the last 2 years of his career. He also had a managing career, taking charge of the Argeninta national team for 2 years as well as managing Al Wasl, Fujairah, Dorados, and Gimnasia.

Croatia

Alen Halilović, 2013 - 16y, 353d vs. Portugal (10 caps)
Alen Halilović, the wonderkid who struggled to live up to the hype, is Croatia’s youngest debutant. In 2014 he was one of the most exciting talents in the world, becoming Dinamo Zagreb’s youngest player as well as the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Prva HNL, the 2nd youngest player in the history of the Champions League, after Céléstine Babayaro (Since Rayan Cherki’s debut this year, Halilović is now the 3rd youngest.). The hype was real. He signed for Barcelona in 2014. He was eventually loaned out to Sporting Gijón, then sold to Hamburger SV, loaned out to Las Palmas, joined AC Milan on a free transfer, loaned out to Standard Liège and Heerenveen, and then in October 2020 had his Milan contract mutually terminated. He is now at Birmingham City (he signed 2 weeks ago) and still only 24 years old. He has made 10 appearances for the national team but is yet to score for them.

Colombia

Johnnier Montaño, 1999 - 16y, 167d vs. Uruguay (12 caps)
Starting his career at CD América, Johnnier Montaño had a very nomadic career. Quilmes in Argentina. Parma, Verona, and Piacenza in Italy. Santa Fe, Tolima, and Cortuluá in Colombia. Deportivo Quito in Ecuador. Sport Boys, Alizana Lima, USM Porres, Melgar, Cantolao, and Chavelines in Peru. Konyaspor in Turkey. He won the Peruvian League with Melgar and currently turns out for Chavelines. He represented Colombia at the 1999 Copa America. At the Copa America, he scored in a game vs. Argentina that saw Martín Palermo miss THREE penalties for Argentina in a game that Colombia won 3-0. Colombia was also awarded two penalties, and missed one of them as well.

Mexico

Armando Manzo, 1984 - 17y, 109d vs. Italy (38 caps)
Armando Manzo didn’t have the most auspicious of starts for the Mexico national team, as he watched his team concede 5 goals to Italy during a friendly, including a Paolo Rossi hat-trick. Nonetheless, Manzo was called up to play for his country at the 1986 World Cup, where Mexico made it to the quarterfinals before losing on penalties to West Germany. On club level, Manzo made 195 appearances for Mexican side Club América, and has also played for Mexican clubs Tampico Madero, Club Necaxa, Cobras de Ciudad Juárez, and CF Monterrey.

Italy

Rodolfo Gavinelli, 1911 - 16y, 98d vs. France (1 cap)
OR Renzo De Vecchi, 1911 - 16y, 113d vs. Hungary (45 caps)
This one is kind of up for debate. Not only is Gavinelli’s date of birth uncertain, but we don’t even know if that’s his actual name. Some sources list him as “Pietro Antonio”. What we do know about him is that he played for Piemonte (not the unlicensed Juventus team on FIFA, there was an actual team called this at one point) and Andrea Doria at club level, and that his life wasn’t particularly long.
If Gavinelli’s debut is too ambiguous for you, the next-youngest debutant for Italy is Renzo De Vecchi, who also debuted in 1911 at 16 years and 334 days old vs. Hungary. We know a lot more about De Vecchi - He played for Milan and Genoa, quickly became a legend among club fans, won the league 3 times with Genoa, appeared at 3 Olympic Games for Italy (1912, 1920, 1924), retired and became the manager Genoa, and then went into sports journalism, working for La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Denmark

Harald Nielsen, 1952 - 17y, 310d vs. Czechoslovakia (14 caps)
Scoring 15 goals in 14 appearances for Denmark, Harald Nielsen was clearly a prolific goal scorer on international level. He was part of the Danish team that won the silver medal at the 1960 Olympics. He also won the Danish footballer of the year in 1961, the first year the award was given out. At club level Neilsen started at Frederikshavn before moving to Bologna in 1961. He won the Serie A with them in 1963-64, and was Serie A's top goalscorer in the 1962-63 and 1963-64 seasons. After 157 games and 104 goals for Bologna, Nielsen had short spells with Inter, Napoli, and Sampdoria before retiring in 1970. After retirement he helped professionalize football in Denmark and is considered an icon for helping Danish football develop to where it is today.

Germany

Willy Baumgartner, 1908 - 17y, 102d vs. Switzerland (4 caps)
In a 5-3 loss to Switzerland, Willy Baumgartner became the youngest player to be capped for Germany. On club level, he played for BFC Germania and Düsseldorfer SV 04. Again, I can’t find much information on him since he played over 100 years ago.

Netherlands

Jan van Breda Kolff, 1911 - 17y, 65d vs. Belgium (11 caps)
Again, another one I can barely find anything about. He has been capped by Netherlands 11 times, scored once, and played for HVV Den Haag at club level.

Switzerland

Robert Fischer, 1915 - 15y, 30d vs. Italy (1 cap)
Not to be confused with the chess player Bobby Fischer. Can find even less out about this one. Don’t even know what club he played for. It is a very classic neutral Swiss thing to be playing football in the middle of World War I, though.

Chile

Humberto Elgueta, 1920 - 16y, 1d vs. Brazil (9 caps)
About 10 years after his international debut Humberto Elgueta was included in Chile’s 1930 World Cup squad (the first World Cup). He started in the teams’ first game, a 3-0 win against Mexico. However he did not appear in any of Chile’s other games at the tournament. He played for Gold Cross FC, Santiago Wanderers, and Naval de Talcahuano on club level.

Poland

Wlodzimierz Lubanski, 1963 - 16y, 187d vs. Norway (75 caps)
On Wlodzimierz Lubanski’s debut for Poland, he actually got on the scoresheet - in fact, a lot of Polish players did. It was a 9-0 thrashing of Norway. The goals didn’t stop there. Lubanski is a legendary goalscorer for Poland; he is the nation’s 2nd highest international goalscorer of all time with 48 goals in 75 games. At club level, he spent 13 years at Górnik Zabrze before switching to Belgian side Lokoren, where he spent a further 8 years. He then spent his last 3 seasons in the French 2nd division with Valenciennes for 1 season and Quimper for 2. His goalscoring records at club level are phenomenal too, scoring 364 times in 626 games.

Sweden

Gunnar Pleijel, 1911 - 17y, 71d vs. Finland (1 cap)
A difficult one to find much about. All I know about him is that he played for IFK Uppsala on club level, and that he has only 1 cap. His game against Finland ended 5-2 with Sweden being the winning side.

Wales

Harry Wilson, 2013 - 16y, 207d vs. Belgium (17 caps)
Wales’ youngest player ever is still only 23. Harry Wilson came through the Liverpool youth system and is still contracted to the Reds. He is currently on loan at Cardiff and has previously had spells at Crewe Alexandra, Hull, Derby, and Bournemouth. He has 17 caps and 3 goals for Wales.

Senegal

Dion Lopy, 2019 - 17y, 186 vs. Liberia (1 cap)
Since this one only happened a year ago, Dion Lopy still has a lot of time to do stuff worth writing about. He started at the club Oslo Football Academy Dakar (In Dakar, not Oslo) and moved to Stade Reims in October 2020.

USA

Louis Menges, 1904 - 16y, 18d vs. Canada (1 cap)
Interestingly enough, 4 of the USA’s 5 youngest players made their debut in this 7-0 defeat to Canada in 1904. The fifth player? None other than Freddy Adu, USA’s 2nd youngest player ever. Anyways, goalkeeper Louis Menges didn’t play football much after his teenage years. He was in the US Army during World War I. Later he served in Illinois’s state senate from 1935 to 1943 and also owned and built movie theaters.

Ukraine

Serhiy Rebrov, 1992 - 18y, 24d vs. USA (75 caps)
Coincidentally enough, the next player on this list made his debut against the previous country. Serhiy Rebrov came through Shakhtar Donetsk’s youth prospect right at the same the Soviet Union fell and Ukraine became independent. Rebrov soon switched to Shakthar’s rivals Dynamo Kyiv where he made a famous attacking partnership with Andriy Shevchenko. Rebrov stayed at Kyiv for 8 years before signing for Tottenham in 2000. His last year on contract to Tottenham he spent on loan to Fenerbache. He moved on a free transfer to West Ham where he played for a year before going back to Dynamo Kyiv on a free transfer. In 2008 he was bought by Rubin Kazan where he spent his last year before retiring. Rebrov is the joint-highest goalscorer of all time in the Ukranian Premier League along with Maksim Shatskikh. Rebrov went on to become a manager, leading sides such as Dynamo Kyiv and Al-Ahli. He is managing Ferencváros, who, this year, made their first Champions League Group stage appearance since 1995.

Peru

Lorenzo Pacheco, 1935 - 15y, 166d vs. Chile (10 caps)
Lorenzo Pacheco was a forward who made his debut vs. Chile which ended in a 1-0 victory for Peru. He played for KDT Nacional, Social San Carlos, Universitario, and Sport Boys at club level. He appeared for Peru at the 1947 and 1949 Copa Americas, and won the league with Sport Boys in 1951.

Austria

David Alaba, 2009 - 17y, 110d vs. France (75 caps)
David Alaba has become an integral part of Bayern Munich's dominant 2010s squad since being signed from Austria Wien's reserves in 2008. Besides his time in Austria Wein's youth and a loan to Hoffenheim in 2011, Alaba has spent pretty much his entire career at Bayern Munich, where he has won 9 Bundesligas and 2 Champions Leagues. He has won the Austrian footballer of the year 5 times in a row from 2012 to 2016 and been named in UEFA's team of the year in 2013, 2014, and 2015. He has made 75 appearances and scored 14 times for Austria.

Tunisia

Adel Sellimi, 1989 - 16y, 207d vs. Zambia (78 caps)
Adel Sellimi had a virtually permanent place in the Tunisian national team throughout the 1990s, and overall he earned 78 caps and scored 20 times. He started and ended his career at Club Africain in Tunisia. However, he also played for Nantes, Real Jaén, and Freiburg in between his 2 spells at the Tunis club. He did find an impressive vein of form at Freiburg as well. He's currently an assistant manager for the Tunisia national team.

Japan

Takefusa Kubo, 2019 - 18y, 5d vs. El Salvador (11 caps)
A recent one, and one of the most promising players currently. Kubo is still only 19 years old and has already made 11 appearances for Japan. He was recruited by FC Barcelona from Kawasaki Frontale Youth in 2011 only for Barcelona to let him go in 2015 when he left for FC Tokyo. After a loan spell at Yokohama F. Marinos, Barcelona’s rivals Real Madrid signed him in 2019. Kubo then had a fruitful loan spell at Mallorca and is currently on loan at Villareal.

Venezuela

William Salas, 1977 - 15y, 131d vs. Ecuador (13 caps)
William Salas made 13 total appearances for Venezuela as a defender. On club level, he played for Portuguesa FC in Venezuela.

Iran

Hossein Kaebi, 2003 - 17y, 297d vs. Belarus (85 caps)
OR Allahyar Sayyadmanesh, 2019 - 17y, 338d vs. Syria (3 caps)
Known for his pace, work rate, and strength, Hossein Kaebi played for 9 clubs across Iran’s top tier, including Foolad, Piroozi, Persepolis, Saipa, Steel Azin, Rah Ahan, Sanat Naft, Esteghlal, and Sepidrood. He also had spells in other Middle Eastern clubs: Al-Sadd in Qatar, and Emirates in the UAE. The right-back had a very short and unfruitful spell in Europe, signing for Leicester City in 2007. However he could speak no English and was relegated to the reserves after the sacking of Martin Allen. He was released by mutual consent after only making 3 appearances for the Foxes and returned to Iran. He is currently the assistant manager of Sepidrood. On the international stage, Kaebi appeared in Iran’s 2006 World Cup squad and their 2004 and 2007 Asian Cup Squads. Also, he has 13 siblings, which isn’t relevant but I thought it was pretty wild.
However, it is likely Kaebi lied about his age and was actually older. If that's the case, Iran's youngest player would be Allahyar Sayyadmanesh. He is currently still only 19 and is at Zorya on loan from Fenerbahce. Fenerbache signed him from Esteghlal and previously loaned him out to Istanbulspor.

Serbia

Andrija Živković, 2013 - 17y, 91d vs. Japan (17 caps)
Andrija Živković started his career off at Partizan with a bang, scoring his first goal for the club just 2 days after signing his first senior contract. He scored 3 more times in the next 3 league games, and became the team’s youngest captain in history in 2014. However, by 2016, Živković refused to extend his contract with the club. He eventually moved on a free transfer to Benfica. He struggled to make an impact there and left on a free transfer in 2020. He is currently playing for PAOK in Greece. Živković was part of the Serbian U20 team that won the U20 World Cup in 2015. He scored twice, with his direct free-kick goal against Mexico U20 being voted the goal of the tournament. He was also part of the Serbia's 2018 World Cup team.

Algeria

Tarek Lazizi, 1990 - 18y, 255d vs. Ivory Coast (44 caps)
At club level, Tarek Lazizi started at JS Kabylie and moved to MC Algiers in 1989. In 1996 he moved to Stade Tunisien in Tunisia, then to Genclerbirligi in Turkey, then back to MC Algeirs, then to Atlantis FC in Finland, beofre finally concluding his career at MB Bouira back in Algeria. He won the league with MC Algeirs in 1998-99 and he was a part of the Algeria squad that won their first Africa Cup of Nations in 1990.

Nigeria

Tajudeen Oyekanmi, 1990 - 17y, 7d vs. Algeria (1 cap)
Another one I can find barely anything about. Tajudeen Oyekanmi played for KV Kortrijk between 1991 and 1993, but I can’t find any records of other clubs he played for.

Turkey

Mehmet Leblebi, 1924 - 16y, 143d vs. Czechoslovakia (16 caps)
A true Galatasaray man through and through, Mehmet Leblebi went to Galatasaray High School and was selected for Galatasaray’s 2nd team at only 12 years old. He began playing for Galatasaray’s senior squad at only 15 years old. He stayed at Galatasaray his entire career, winning the Istanbul Football League 5 times. He also scored 14 goals in one match against Vefa SK, a game that ended 20-0. He made 16 appearances for the Turkish NT, scoring twice.

Russia

Eduard Streltsov, 1955 - 17y, 330d vs. Sweden (38 caps)
Here’s a footballer with a story so complicated that I can’t do it justice here. I highly recommend reading more about Steltsov. Streltsov not only scored on his international debut, he scored a hat-trick against Sweden, a game that the Soviet Union won 6-0. In 1956, he won the gold medal with the Soviet Union at the Olympics, and he was voted the Soviet Footballer of the year in 1967 and 1968. He spent his entire career at Torpedo Moscow and the stadium was renamed Eduard Streltsov Stadium in 1996 in his honor. However, it wasn’t all success for Streltsov. In 1958 he was accused of raping a woman at a party. It is unclear whether he actually did this or if he was accused by Soviet leaders who were upset with his rebellious personality and celebrity status. This is an extremely controversial subject so if you want to know more about what exactly happened, I recommend reading more about Streltsov, it's fascinating. But regardless of what really happened, Streltsov was sentenced to 12 years (he wound up only serving 5 of those 12) in the Gulag and forbidden from playing professional football ever again. He missed the 1958 World Cup and never appeared at a World Cup for his nation. Apparently he was frequently severely beaten by a young inmate and had to spend 4 months in the prison hospital. But soon he began to earn the approval of his fellow inmates. Prison officials would allow Streltsov to play football as a form of entertainment to calm down the inmates in times of trouble. After his release in 1963, Streltsev worked at the ZiL factory and studied automotive engineering. He played with the factory’s amateur football team, which won all 11 of its matches and the league, as well as attracting large crowds who wanted to see Steltsev play. When Leonid Brezhnev replaced Nikita Khrushchev, Brezhnev received a letter signed by tens of thousands of Soviet citizens asking for Streltsov’s professional ban to be reversed. Brezhnev agreed and Streltsov returned to Torpedo Moscow where he continued his rich form for the rest of his career. His international career finished with 38 caps and 25 goals. To this day he’s considered on the Russia’s greatest players ever and along with Lev Yashin and Konstantin Beskov, appeared on a limited edition mint of 2-ruble coins focused on Russian sports heros.
Also, if you want to know who is the youngest player for only Russia and not the USSR, it’s Igor Akinfeev. He appeared for Russia at 18 years and 20 days old against Norway in 2004, and has spent his entire career at CSKA Moscow.

Paraguay

Jorge Núñez, 1993 - 15y, 190d vs. Colombia (22 caps)
Jorge Núñez made his debut for the Paraguayan team in a World Cup Qualifying match and overall has made 22 appearances for them, scoring 1 goal. At club level he stayed in South America his whole career. He mostly played for Argentine sides, such as Banfield, Arsenal (The Argentine one), Racing Club, Estudiantes, Rosario Central, and Chacarita Jrs. He had a chance to join Sheffield Utd in the 2006-07 season but decided not to when he was called up to international duty.

Republic of Ireland

Billy/Willie O’Neill, 1935 - 15y, 339d vs. Netherlands (11 caps)
Willie O’Neill was capped 11 times for Ireland, back when it was known as the Irish Free State. The defender also spent his entire career at Dundalk, making 330 appearances.

Slovakia

Frantisek Vysocky, 1939 - 18y, 110d vs. Germany (6 caps)
Striker Frantisek Vysocky racked up 6 appearances and 2 goals for the Slovak national team. He made his first appearance vs. Germany on August 27, 1939. You may know that 4 days later Germany would invade Poland, starting World War II. At club level, Vysocky played for FC Vrútky, OAP Bratislava, and Jednota Košice. He won the league with OAP Bratislava in the 1942-1943 season.

South Korea

Ko Jong-soo, 1997 - 18y, 98d vs. Norway (38 caps)
Midfielder Ko Jong-soo appeared 38 times for South Korea and was part of their 1998 World Cup Squad. He played mostly in the Korean League with Suwon Bluewings. He had a season-long spell in Japan with Kyoto Sanga, as well as appearances for other Korean teams Chunnam Dragons and Daejeon Citizen. He was allegedly very entertaining to watch, with Wikipedia citing a goal he scored from 57 meters against Jeonbuk in 2002. Edit: Goal can be watched here: https://youtu.be/UdbwqsX3JJo?t=37

Morocco

Hachim Mastour, 2015 - 16y, 363d vs. Libya (1 cap)
Hard to know where to start with Hachim Mastour but if you followed football at all in 2015 you knew about the hype. He went viral at 14 with his eye-catching dribbling skills on YouTube and every major club wanted to sign him. Eventually, the Italian-born Moroccan signed for AC Milan, at only 15 years old. He was even promoted him to the first team and put on the bench for Milan’s final match of the season, but Mastour didn’t get subbed on. If he did, he would have become Milan’s youngest player ever. A year later he was loaned out to Málaga where he only made one appearance in all competitions as a substitute in the last 5 minutes. Then he was loaned to Zwolle where he only made 6 appearances. Eventually his contract at Milan expired in 2018 and he moved to Lamia in the Greek Superleague. In December 2018 he was reported absent and later his father said it was due to injury. In March 2019, his contract at Lamia was terminated by mutual consent. He signed for Reggina in Serie C in October 2019 and made his debut in January 2020. In the 2019-20 season, Reggina were promoted to Serie B. On the international level, his record-breaking appearance for Morocco is his only senior cap so far. While it feels like he’s already lived a whole career, he’s still only 22, so there’s still a lot of time for new developments.

Iceland

Sigurdur Jónsson, 1983 - 16y, 249d vs. Malta (63 caps)
Starting his career at his hometown club of ÍA, Jónsson won the award for Icelandic Player of the Year in 1983 at only 17 years old. Obviously this attracted the attention of many clubs and it wasn’t long before Sheffield Wednesday signed the midfielder. Jónsson would spend the next 7 years. In 1986 he was loaned out to Barnsley and in 1989 Arsenal signed the midfielder. However Jónsson struggled with injury and in 2 years he only made 10 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners. He was part of the Arsenal side that won the First Division in 1991 but he only appeared twice, which wasn’t enough to qualify for a winner’s medal. He was also an unused substitute in Arsenal’s 0-0 draw with Tottenham for the FA Charity Shield. Back then they didn’t have a penalty shootout - they just let the teams share the trophy. So I guess he sort of has that to show for his time at Arsenal. He announced he was going to retire due to his back problems but a year later he came out of retirement to play for ÍA again. He won the Icelandic player of the year again in 1993 as well as the Úrvalsdeild Player of the Year. He moved to Örebro SK, then to Dundee United where again he was struck by injuries, then he went back to ÍA for a third spell before retiring in 2000. At international level, he made 63 appearances and scored 3 goals for Iceland. He is now a manager, leading Icelandic 3rd division side Kári since 2014. He previously managed FH, Víkingur, and Grindavík in Iceland and Djurgårdens IF and Enköpings SK in Sweden. During his time managing Djurgårdens, he got the “Iron Stove of the Year” (Årets Järnkamin) in 2007, as voted on by the fans for the best player or coach at Djurgårdens.

Northern Ireland

Norman Whiteside, 1982 - 17y, 40d vs. Yugoslavia (38 caps)
A first team regular for Manchester United throughout the 1980s, Norman Whiteside also appeared at 2 world cups for Northern Ireland in 1982 and 1986. In fact, his international debut came at the 1982 World Cup, making him the youngest player to ever play at the competition. He also scored against Algeria in a 1-1 tie at the 1986 World Cup. He also won the last ever British Home Championship with Northern Ireland. As a teenager, he was scouted by Bob Bishop, who previously discovered Northern Ireland icons George Best and Sammy McIlroy. Whiteside found out he had been offered a deal at the club while visiting Jimmy Carter in the Oval Office… a weird anecdote but apparently he was there because of a program about helping disadvantaged children from Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Whiteside made 206 appearances and scored 47 goals for Man Utd from 1982 to 1989. In 1982 he became the club’s youngest goalscorer, netting against Stoke in the final game of the season. He won the FA Cup twice with Man Utd as well as the FA Charity Shield. In 1989 he signed for Everton and played there for 2 years before retiring at only 26 due to recurring injury problems with his knee. Post-retirement, Whiteside became a podiatrist.

Australia

Duncan Cummings, 1975 - 17y, 137d vs. China (2 caps)
Born in Manchester, England, Duncan Cummings only represented Australia 2 times. At club level, he played for Melbourne Hungaria and South Melbourne. He retired from playing football in 1981, at only age 23.

Norway

Martin Ødegaard, 2014 - 15y, 250d vs. UAE (25 caps)
When Martin Ødegaard became the youngest player and youngest goalscorer in the Tippeligaen in 2014, big clubs from all around Europe came for one of the continent’s most promising youth players. Eventually Ødegaard signed for Real Madrid and became the clubs youngest player ever when he was subbed on for Ronaldo in May 2015. In 2016 Ødegaard became a regular for Madrid’s B Team, Real Madrid Castilla. He was loaned out to Heerenveen and later Vitesse and after struggling a bit, he began to find his form. However, his real breakthrough then came when he was loaned out to Real Socieadad for the 2019-20 season. He won September 2019's La Liga Player of the Month, and in February 2020 he scored against his parent club, Real Madrid, in the Copa del Rey, eliminating them from the competition. This impressed the staff at the Bernabéu and he is now listed as part of Madrid’s 1st team.

Romania

Cristian Manea, 2014 - 16y, 292d vs. Albania (10 caps)
A youth product of Viitorul Constanța’s Gheorghe Hagi Academy, Cristian Manea was purchased by Cypriot club Apollon Limassol in 2014 before immediately being loaned back to Viitorul Constanța. This began a series of loans for the player to other Romanian clubs like FCSB and Cluj as well as Belgian club Mouscron. Eventually Cluj brought Manea from Limassol, where he plays today. The right-back has made 10 appearances for Romania and scored 1 goal.

Scotland

Sandy McLaren, 1929 - 18y, 152d vs. Germany (5 caps)
Alexander “Sandy” McLaren played as a goalkeeper for Scotland, making 5 appearances between 1929 and 1932. At club level he played for St. Johnstone from 1927 to 1933, making 198 appearances, before moving to Leicester. He played there from 1993 to 1940, making 239 appearances until retirement.

Czech Republic

Adam Hložek, 2020 - 18y, 40d vs. Slovakia (1 cap)
One of 2 players to make their debut this year on this list. Adam Hložek made his league debut for Sparta Prague in November 2018 at only 16 years old, becoming the club’s youngest ever league player. He is still at Sparta Prague today where he’s become a regular in the Starting XI and has made 1 appearance for the Czech Republic so far. He was named Czech talent of the year in 2019.

Hungary

Károly Zsák, 1912 - 16y, 312d vs. Russia (30 caps)
Goalkeeper Károly Zsák made a total of 30 appearances for the Hungarian national team. He was part of Hungary’s 1912 and 1924 Olympics squads but was an unused sub on both. In 1914, he was named Hungarian Footballer of the Year.

Ghana

Mohammed Gargo, 1992 - 16y, 207d vs. Zambia (20 caps)
Starting his career at Real Tamale Utd in Ghana, Mohammed Gargo was picked up by Italian side Torino in 1992. He didn’t make a single appearance for the Italian side before moving to Dortmund II, Bayern II. Then he moved to Stoke where again, he didn’t make an appearance. His breakthrough came when he signed for Udinese in 1995, a club he made 88 appearances for. In 2003 he was loaned to Venezia. In 2004 he was sold to Genoa along with Vittorio Micolucci in exchange for Rodrigue Boisfer and Valon Behrami (as you may know, Behrami is back at Genoa as of today). Gargo spent the last years of his career at Al-Wakrah in Qatar before moving back to Ghana to join Ashanti Gold. Gargo was part of the Ghana squad that were runners up at the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations and the 1992 squad that won the bronze medal at the Olympics. Post-retirement, Gargo managed Ghanian sides New Edubiase Utd and Real Tamale Utd, and has been managing Namibian club Tura Magic since 2018.

Jamaica

Michael Seaton, 2013 - 16y, 196d vs. Trinidad/Tobago (14 caps)
Despite being only 25, Michael Seaton has already become kind of a journeyman. Starting at DC United, he was loaned to Portland Kickers and then Örebro SK in Sweden. Then he joined Portland Timbers where he didn’t make a single league appearance. After that he went to Israel, playing for Hapoel Ramat Gan, Hapoel Tel Aviv, and Maccabi Ahi Nazareth. In 2018 Seaton went back to the USA to play for Orange County, where he established himself at one of the league’s best finishers. In 2020 Seaton joined German 3 Liga side Viktoria Köln on a free transfer. Seaton has made 14 appearances and scored 2 goals with Jamaica, and won the Caribbean Cup with them in 2014.

Costa Rica

Manfred Ugalde, 2020 - 17y, 247d vs. USA (1 cap)
The 2nd player on this list to make his debut this year, Manfred Ugalde debuted for Costa Rican side Saprissa in 2019. He had quite an exciting debut for the club, being subbed on in the 79th minute and scoring an equalizer in the 93rd minute. His goal-scoring prowess quickly gained him a good reputation; he won the CONCACAF League in 2019 and was named the season’s best young player. In 2020 He signed for Lommel (Owned by City Football Group) in the Belgian 2nd division where his goalscoring talent has continued.

best world chess championship games video

Follow the latest chess tournaments online with live broadcasting. All major chess events are covered. See the moves, analyze them with an engine and interact with other chess fans. Chess is a rich game, dating back over a millennia. On Chess.com alone, over 2,000,000,000 games have been played! Which games are the very best ever played? No one can answer that conclusively, but we are going to give you Chess.com's opinion. We asked Chess.com staff and contributors to give us their... “The best chess set I ever played with was ... I would love to buy the official wooden chess sets they use for the world championship,” Pham ... WE Games Tournament Chess Set ($17.50 ... With the upcoming 2018 world chess championship between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana just days away starting Nov. 9, Chess.com wanted to know: What is the most exciting title match in history?. Below is a countdown of the top 10 as we announce one per weekday until the start of the 2018 world chess championship: 10th Place: (Tie) Capablanca-Lasker 1921, Alekhine-Capablanca 1927 and ... Today we present to you the collection of 15 best games in the history of chess. These games involve the most amazing ideas imaginable, greatest combinations, superb sacrifices, tremendous positional play and so on. By deeply studying the annotations you will not only enjoy the greatest chess games but will also improve your own chess. Analyzing […] The best chess games to play online or offline on PC. Chess.com is a good commercial free alternative. You have to put up with a few ads, and it'll bug you to pay for an optional premium ... It is always a great source of inspiration to see some of the most famous chess games from the world’s strongest chess players throughout history.. If you want to get better at chess, you don’t only have to learn from your own games, but also from other player’s games. One of the best chess training techniques is to study the games of the greatest chess players in history. Best chess games of World Champions Best chess games of the World Champions. Every Champion has left a rich heritage of brilliant games for chess players to enjoy. In this series of posts, we will examine the best game of the careers of every single chess World Champion. We will add the links to the list below once the post is finished. Part one – Wilhelm Steinitz Part two – Emmanuel ... The World Chess Championship 2018, a match between reigning champion Magnus Carlsen and challenger Fabiano Caruana, just came to a conclusion in London.Since all twelve classical games were drawn, the players entered a tiebreak round, where Carlsen was crowned world champion. Magnus Carlsen is a Norwegian chess Grandmaster, current World Champion in all three categories classic, rapid and blitz and a number 1 rated chess player in the world. His elo peaked at 2882. It is the highest rating a human player has ever had. We present 10 of many of amazing Magnus Carlsen chess games […]

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The Game that made Carlsen world Champion - YouTube

This is game 8 (eight) from the 2012 Fide World Chess Championship match between the current champion, Viswanathan Anand (India), and challenger Boris Gelfan... Source: Chess Cast.World Chess Champion Vs Best Female Chess Player!! Magnus Carlsen Vs Judit Polgar - Blitz Chess 2014 The Game that made Carlsen world Champion against caruana Game 6 between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky from the 1972 World Chess Championship (Match of the Century) was the greatest one of the entire battle. It in... Usually when it is the championship game, you often see players slightly tensed or nervous. But you can see how Magnus Carlsen plays each and every move in t... Own a piece of history with the World Chess Championship Chess Set — the only chess set approved by FIDE for the World Chess Championship cycle events. This... Our YouTube channel is your go-to source for chess lessons, tips, high-profile games of Grandmasters, coverage of top-level chess tournaments, and everything in between. http://en.chessbase.com/ http://shop.chessbase.com/?ref=RF8-LCJ1MGZO0J https://account.chessbase.com https://www.facebook.com/chessbase https://twitter.com/... GM Ben Finegold discusses the best games of World Champion Magnus Carlsen as chess fans around the globe anticipate the 2018 World Chess Championship in Lond...

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best world chess championship games

best world chess championship games - win

Best Games of World Chess Championship Contender Fabiano Caruana, with GM Ben Finegold

@WSJ: The best chess player on the planet got a black eye. The second best player had his preparation leaked. And, 12 games later, the World Chess Championship still doesn't have a winner. https://t.co/h2xk4cSpGW

@WSJ: The best chess player on the planet got a black eye. The second best player had his preparation leaked. And, 12 games later, the World Chess Championship still doesn't have a winner. https://t.co/h2xk4cSpGW

which of the world championship games would be the best for a new chess player to look at?

[Lifestyle] - Was series of rapid games best way to decide world chess championship? | Guardian

[Lifestyle] - Was series of rapid games best way to decide world chess championship?

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Each national team's youngest player: Where are they now?

Belgium

France

Brazil

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Portugal

Spain

Uruguay

Argentina

Croatia

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Mexico

Italy

Denmark

Germany

Netherlands

Switzerland

Chile

Poland

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Senegal

USA

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Peru

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Republic of Ireland

Slovakia

South Korea

Morocco

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Czech Republic

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Costa Rica

best world chess championship games video

best world chess championship games top

The Game that made Carlsen world Champion - YouTube